Bono revealed that Ed Sheeran’s desire not to get “political” predates his embattled tour.
The U2 frontman, 66, told Rolling Stone U.K. that when Sheeran, who lost all of his tour’s opening acts and public goodwill when he declined to take a stand on Palestine, worked on the band’s 2026 EP Days of Ash, he expressed anxiety about “getting political.”
Bono recalled, “When we did ‘Yours Eternally,’ he was saying, ‘You’re not going to get me into politics, are you?’”
Sheeran features on and co-wrote “Yours Eternally,” the EP’s closing track, written as a letter from a Ukrainian soldier on the front lines of the conflict with Russia. Days of Ash features several politically charged songs, including a tribute to ICE shooting victim Renée Good called “American Obituary,” and ruminations on ICE, Putin, Netanyahu, and more.
Bono said he told Sheeran, “‘This soldier who has inspired us, he loved you Ed, and you’ve worked on this song.’”
According to Bono, Sheeran replied, “I just want to keep my thing free.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to Sheeran for comment.
Bono said he realized after the interaction, “You can’t be pushing people around.” As for the controversy that Sheeran’s lack of public stance brought him this fall, Bono added, “I don’t want to dwell on Ed and Macklemore, that incident.”
Sheeran’s U.S. tour fell into chaos after all the support acts and his backing band quit in protest after Macklemore was dropped for his pro-Palestine comments. Billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft threatened to cancel his show and boycott Sheeran’s tour unless they cut Macklemore from the bill.
Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother, was among those to pull out. He wrote on social media, “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”
Macklemore announced on Instagram that Kraft, a longtime friend of President Trump, gave Sheeran an ultimatum.
Under pressure, Sheeran told fans at his show of the tour, “I have tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind, because I want my music and shows to be about unity, not division. But this is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore.”
He then condemned both the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel as well as the retaliatory humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which he called “disproportionate.”
Macklemore has since sold out his separate “Free Palestine” tour that will benefit the Palestinian people.
