Bob Geldof defends “good man” Ed Sheeran, says he “really admires Macklemore and the guys who walked” amid Palestine row

Bob Geldof has defended Ed Sheeran amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Macklemore being dropped from the singer’s ‘Loop’ tour over pro-Palestine comments .

READ MORE: Bob Geldof on the ‘Live Aid’ musical and why “the ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Age’ is over” The Boomtown Rats frontman has weighed in on the row, arguing that artists have the right to decide whether they want to use their platform to speak on political issues, while also praising Macklemore and the musicians who subsequently withdrew from Sheeran’s tour.

“An artist has the absolute right to choose what he wants to say and when he wants to say it,” Geldof told the Belfast Telegraph .

“There are those who say, y’know, at a certain level of fame, having a non-political stance is political.

No, that’s not right.

Fame is a currency, and it depends on how you want to use it.” He continued: “I wouldn’t expect The Rolling Stones to get up and go on about Gaza, you just wouldn’t.

Why? Because it’s not their thing, although I’m quite sure that Mick Jagger has an opinion on it.” Gelfof did, however, reserve praise for those who took a stand, adding: “I really admire Macklemore and the guys who walked, because it’s a hard ask.

They are making a big quid for the first time in their lives, y’know, and he just said, ‘No, mate’.” | HQ video of Ed Sheeran’s full speech before his show tonight in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/K8uElEtT8U — Ed Sheeran Access (@AccessEdSheeran) September 20, 2026 He instead directed his criticism towards Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft and the tour’s promoters.

“Shame on Kraft, and shame on the promoters,” Geldof said.

“Shame on them! But not shame on Sheeran.” “They both should be supported by the promoters that put on their concerts and by the owners of the stadium,” he said.

“It’s certainly none of their fucking business what an artist gets up to.” The comments come after Sheeran returned to the stage in Philadelphia on Saturday (September 19) and admitted making “mistakes” over the Macklemore row .

Speaking to the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field, Sheeran said the fallout had made him question whether he wanted “to be an artist at all”.

“I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry,” he said.

Sheeran also said he had never intended to be “an activist musician”, but that the controversy had placed him at the centre of “an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech”.