Charlotte Church slams Ed Sheeran over Macklemore Gaza controversy

Charlotte Church has criticised Ed Sheeran over the removal of Macklemore from his US tour, accusing the singer of choosing “consumerism and capitalism” over speaking out on Gaza .

The Welsh singer, 40, addressed the controversy during her End Times Pop Dungeon show in Cardiff on Sunday, calling on the audience to chant “Free Palestine ” before turning her attention to Sheeran.

Church told the crowd that Sheeran had made millions and had “an enormous following” and “an enormous platform to do real good in the world”.

Charlotte Church has criticised Ed Sheeran over speaking out on Gaza Ben Birchall/PA Wire She then said: “While he has made millions, while he has an enormous following, an enormous platform to do real good in the world, he chose consumerism and capitalism over doing the right thing.”

She added: “We say the same thing to Ed Sheeran, because f* the fact that musicians shouldn’t be involved in politics, f* that s***.

Church then called out “Ed Sheeran”, prompting the audience to respond: “We’re watching you”, before she led a chant of “Free Palestine”.

The comments come amid growing controversy surrounding Sheeran’s North American Loop tour after rapper Macklemore was removed from the remaining US dates.

Macklemore had spoken in support of Palestinians during a performance at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium earlier this month, telling the audience “Free Palestine” and performing his protest song Hind’s Hall.

He was subsequently dropped from the remainder of the US leg of the tour. Macklemore said the decision was influenced by stadium owners, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, while Sheeran has said the decision was made by the tour’s promoter and venues rather than by him personally.

Macklemore was dropped as a support act following comments he made about Gaza PA Archive Several other supporting acts, including Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe, subsequently withdrew from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. Sheeran’s backing band also pulled out.

Sheeran addressed the controversy directly during his first show since the fallout at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday.

The singer became emotional as he apologised for “mistakes” and said the previous week had been “one of the worst weeks of my life”.

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