Entertainment is, after all, the new opium of the masses. Fun has been turned in a weapon of distraction and propaganda, and the few influencers willing to push a message are being reliably shunned by the masses, who now only wish to ignore a reality they feel powerless to modify.

@randahl Didn't have any interest at all in his music, don't think very highly of him either now.

@randahl Ed Sheeran performed at Robert Kraft’s wedding. He sang his song "Perfect" for the first dance at Kraft’s surprise wedding to Dana Blumberg in New York on October 14, 2022. Sheeran later described Kraft as “super sweet” and mentioned that he doesn’t usually perform at weddings but made an exception for Kraft due to their relationship ​.
Tell's you all you need to know about Ed as well

@randahl I'm put in mind of the way Frank Sinatra refused to play venues that discriminated against Sammy Davies Jr.

@randahl You have to understand poor Ed Sheeran's net worth is only about 400 million pounds. If he stood on his principles and turned these people down, then how could he afford to live? Where could he afford to sleep?

The guy can't turn down any gigs or he'd be homeless.

@randahl i would argue that in the best of cases it wouldn't achieve anything. or, more likely, it would do more harm.

this makes sense when the cause lacks attention. but when the entire world has been bombarded with it for years now ... all it does is create even more discord among two already opposing and well established sides.

by this point everyone picked a side and they're not going to change their mind because some rapper told them to.

@randahl The most telling part to me is that he evidently made the decision - supposedly for the good of his remaining supporting acts - without consulting the supporting acts in question.

@randahl

Also, an equally apolitical stance for Sheeran in this situation would have been "I don't care what he said; we had an agreement. If he's not playing, I'm not playing."

@randahl The US military tried being apolitical and saw their best leaders fired and replaced with political commissars who are unable to speak truth to power.

@randahl For once I do not agree with you, Randahl
People go to concerts to forget real life worries for a couple hours, not to be hit in the face with a strong, unexpected political message.

Sheeran has been forced into a lose-lose situation, whatever he could do was going to upset lots of people.

There are dedicated, political events where to convey political messages, an Ed Sheeran's concert isn't one of them in my opinion.

@randahl

It's never too late to make a good choice.

#Sheeran can still save the situation by going on stage in MA and saying:
- Free Palestine
- Robert Kraft is trying to control what you hear from the stage
- Robert Kraft is a billionaire who is in the #EpsteinFiles and was caught on video "allegedly" soliciting prostitution.

Edit: Sheeran can keep is show 'friendly' and simply issue the above as a statement. Better still, move to a different MA facility & bring Macklemore.

@randahl billionaires cancelling free speech are the real problem.

Too easy to blame him and all the employees who would have been without jobs and fans who would have lost money because of it while billionaires just get what they want whenever they want.