Damon Albarn holds up Palestinian flag as Gorillaz kick off US tour: “Don’t forget this. Ever. Stand your position. Don’t ever be neutral”

Gorillaz kicked off their 2026 North American dates on Thursday (September 17), using their set to urge the audience not to be “neutral” about the genocide.

READ MORE: Gorillaz – ‘The Mountain’ review: a world-building ode to death and starting over Damon Albarn and co. played a 24-song set at Orlando’s Kia Center, drawing from their self-titled debut, as well as ‘Plastic Beach’, ‘Demon Days’, ‘Humanz’, and their most recent album, ‘The Mountain’ .

At one point in the set, Albarn took a Palestinian flag from an audience member, lifting it above his head and telling the crowd: “Don’t forget this.

Ever.

Stand your position.

Don’t ever be neutral.” It comes at a time where artists’ ability to freely express their thoughts about Palestine has been called into question, given Macklemore’s impassioned “free Palestine” speech while opening for Ed Sheeran prompted calls for Macklemore’s removal from figures like Pink and the Israeli American Council.

He was then dropped from the tour, with Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft later confirming that he found Macklemore’s speech “deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community”, resulting in his dismissal.

Damon Albarn of Gorillaz holds up a Palestinian flag at their show last night in Orlando, FL: “Don’t forget this.

Ever.

Stand your position.

Don’t ever be neutral” (Video: 0beco0 / TikTok) pic.twitter.com/hYAYKXAMVh — Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) September 18, 2026 Sheeran would later speak out about the situation , saying he was “not complicit” and that he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine” and sees the “suffering and pain caused on both sides” as a “tragedy”.

A United Nations-appointed Commission of Inquiry concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and Amnesty International reached the same conclusion.

Israel has repeatedly denied committing genocide or war crimes, maintaining that its military campaign followed the Hamas-led attacks of October 7 and was an act of self-defence.

It rejected the UN Commission’s findings as “distorted and false” and a “libellous sham”.