Thank you for subscribing!

GB News' Entertainment Editor examines the fallout of rapper Macklemore's dismissal from Ed Sheeran's tour - and why trying to appease today's naysayers will never end well

"I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The suffering on both sides is a human tragedy."

Ed Sheeran's opening line in his statement addressing US rapper Macklemore's dismissal as the support act on his tour opened the floodgates.

"There are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated."

Ed, no! What are you doing? Nuance? Rationalising? This shall not stand!

The Shape of You hitmaker made one of the worst mistakes you can make in today's climate: he tried to 'both-side' an argument.

And not only that, he did it when the most divisive issue of my lifetime was at the centre of it: Israel and Palestine.

Sheeran was attempting to apply some damage control to his current tour following rapper Macklemore's dismissal as his support act.

Macklemore had spent portions of his routines prior to his dismissal belting out "Free Palestine" to thousands of people who'd bought a ticket to watch a ginger bloke from Suffolk sing about Lego.

The rapper was axed, but not at the behest of Sheeran. The tour's promoters, Messina Touring Group, had ultimately pulled the plug while billionaire venue owner Robert Kraft penned an open statement explaining he too wanted Macklemore gone and had the power to do so.

Macklemore left the tour red-raw from all the patting on the back from his fellow pro-Pals. Bob Vylan, Kneecap, Paloma Faith, Gerard McCarthy; every celebrity expert on Middle Eastern geopolitics who's never set foot in the region on hand to clap him out on Instagram.

Then every act granted the opportunity of a lifetime by Sheeran followed suit. Support acts Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga - I know, me neither - all decided solidarity would pay the mortgage this month.

And all because Sheeran refused to take a side on an issue which - with the greatest respect to a 35-year-old singer from Ipswich - he likely does not have extensive knowledge of.

Of course, he did try to assuage some of the mob: "I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn't mean I don't have them, and it doesn't mean I don't care.

"Nor does it mean I don't support causes in my own, personal way."

The reasonableness didn't end there. "There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics - my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds," he added.

"Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum. I respect Macklemore's strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes. However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: Peace.

"I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed. If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change. There are different approaches to being an advocate for change."

An absolutely abhorrent display of fair-mindedness and empathy. Rare from a mainstream performer - and now we know why.

Sheeran has become the poster boy for Zionism in the eyes of certain pro-Pals. He's now a genocide enabler, baby killer, Netanyahu fanboy; the usual stuff.

And all because he made the mistake of "both-sidesing" an argument. On an issue 3,500 miles away.

I'm the first to admit that prior to the horror of October 7, my knowledge of the history of the region was limited at best.

But once I saw keffiyehs become more populous than pigeons in Trafalgar Square, I knew it was a necessity to learn as much as I could about this conflict that would go on to dominate popular discourse and create intransigence across the board.

My approach was through books rather than TikTok. Rashid Khalidi's The Hundred Years' War on Palestine was the very first book I picked up to shed some light on the history.

Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine is another integral piece of reading. A phonebook-sized text that provides an account of both sides of the conflict through the alternating lens of Palestinian and Israeli voices.

Izzeldin Abuelaish's I Shall Not Hate had me in tears, A Line in the Sand by James Barr delivered a comprehensive deep-dive into Sykes-Picot's impact on the region, and A Day in the Life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall proved another incredible account of the day-by-day division.

Turning to modern times, Eli Sharabi's Hostage provided a firsthand account of what life in Hamas' terror tunnels was really like, while Peter Beinart's Israel-critical Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza provided me with a viewpoint I hadn't considered before.

Douglas Murray's On Democracies and Death Cults, Jeremy Bowen's The Modern Middle East, Jake Wallis Simon's Israelophobia, Tomorrow Is Yesterday by Hussein Agha and Robert Malley, and The Future Is Peace by Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon are another handful on the bookcase I'm looking at as I type these words.

I began to follow news outlets offering different - and, in some cases, extreme - perspectives on the debate, from Al Jazeera and Haaretz to the Jewish Chronicle and the Canary.

I found the podcasting of moderates like Palestinians Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib and Bassem Eid intriguing, but also exposed myself to the unflinching and polarising opinions of the likes of Eylon Levy and Norman Finkelstein.

And guess what? I don't reel these quote-unquote credentials off to boast about how much the staff at my local Waterstones love me for keeping them in business or that I now know the intricacies of the conflict inside-out.

I say it as I still feel I've barely scratched the surface when it comes to understanding what life is like for either camp.

I will never understand what it's like to be a Gazan or Palestinian in the West Bank that has only known Israeli occupation. And I will never understand what it's like to be an Israeli Jew surrounded by neighbours who refuse to acknowledge your existence.

This clearly is not a black and white issue. It doesn't matter which side you fall on and how much you've convinced yourself it is. It is not.

One side says there's a genocide. The other says extensive measures are carried out to avoid such an outcome.

One side says children are being murdered. The other says it only targets militants.

One side says the other is a colonial apartheid state. The other says it's the only liberal democracy in the region.

One says the other's leaders are terrorists. The other reverses the roles and says the exact same thing.

One side says they're indigenous to the land. The other once again adopts the claim for itself.

One side says there is a famine and no food. The other shares videos of bustling Gazan restaurants and heavy-set civilians.

The entire conflict has become a metronome of claim and counter-claim. And both sides offer up their version of evidence that contradicts their enemy. The water has never been murkier.

But that's irrelevant, especially in the eyes of the pro-Pals who now view Sheeran as a demonic force.

The thing with the pro-Pal movement I've always found worrying is that it doesn't try to persuade. It gatekeeps from the get-go. And that's speaking as someone who probably has a lot more in common with the cause than not.

Say those two famous words, or that's you done for. Scratching beneath the surface results in ostracisation. Musician, politician, office worker, gardener, beekeeper, binman; everyone.

Ask them what a "Free Palestine" actually looks like in real-world terms, and you're a Zionist bigot. In fact, ask any questions related to the conflict - even in a genuine attempt to plug a gap in your knowledge - and the resentment pours out.

I won't for one minute pretend this is a one-sided approach. Actors on the other side adopt this stonewalling, too. And it will continue to harbour an impenetrable blockade to a desperately needed nuanced conversation.

But until that day, Sheeran's music will now be blacklisted, and we'll be treated - or punished - with constant visits to Macklemore's Thrift Shop on the airwaves.

And I've no doubt Gazans everywhere will be clamouring over themselves to thank all the Westerners with watermelons in their bio for boycotting Plus, Divide, Multiply, Up, Down, Left, Right or whatever Sheeran named his last album. You solved the centuries-old debate! Well done!