Saturday Night Live UK poked fun at the ongoing Ed Sheeran-Palestine controversy over the weekend. Watch the videos below.
In the ‘Weekend Update’ news segment of the show, Ania Magliano joked that “the Israel-Palestine conflict just got serious” as she and co-host Paddy Young delved into the backlash Sheeran has faced of late.
“That’s right – Ed Sheeran’s US tour is under threat!” she continued. “Sheeran’s support act, Macklemore, was dropped after saying ‘Free Palestine’ on stage. Will Sheeran have to cancel the tour? There’s a very real risk that he won’t.”
She continued: “Genuinely, though – this crisis is the worst thing that has happened to Ed Sheeran fans since their head injury.”
Magliano then turned her attention to “good guy with bad music Macklemore“, discussing how the artist had been “dropped at the insistence of pro-Israel billionaire Robert Kraft”.
Later, Young took aim at Kraft – who owns Massachusetts’ Gillette Stadium, where Sheeran is scheduled to play two concerts later this week. He called him a “wealthy corpse-maxxer” before digging into his “chequered past”.
“To his credit, Sheeran – seen here looking at both sides of the issue – has been a longstanding supporter of Ukraine,” Young went on. “Say what you want about Ed, but he’s always been a passionate advocate of causes that are allowed.”
Elsewhere on the latest SNL UK, ‘Sheeran’ appeared in a sketch about King Charles and the late Princess Diana. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” he told the pair. “You see, I was just outside sitting on the fence.”
‘King Charles’ then told ‘Sheeran’: “Ed, we need your help with this ghastly war!”
He responded: “Hmm, yeah. Thing is, Your Majesty, I don’t like to take sides. I don’t want to alienate any of my fans – humans or robots. A lot of my tickets are bought by scalping bots.”
‘Sheeran’ began strumming his acoustic guitar, adding: “Sometimes, when it comes to conflicts, the bravest thing you can do is just say nothing at all! He then sang a song about how “both sides are equally right/ No matter the conflict, whatever the fight“.
Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran’s ‘Loop’ tour over his impassioned “free Palestine” speech while opening for Sheeran at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium earlier this month.
The comments sparked calls for his removal from the likes of Pink and the Israeli American Council, with Robert Kraft later saying that he found Macklemore’s speech “deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community”, resulting in his dismissal.
All of Sheeran’s support acts and backing band subsequently dropped out of the tour, with FINNEAS, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga all making statements in support of Macklemore.
Sheeran himself spoke out about the situation, saying he was “not complicit” and was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine” and saw the “suffering and pain caused on both sides” as a “tragedy.”
On Saturday night – after the skits aired on SNL UK – Sheeran resumed his tour in Philadelphia, with a new backing band. The musician acknowledged the criticism he had received over the past week, and apologised for “making mistakes”.
“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet,” he said.
Sheeran added that he was “already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times”, and told the audience he was “listening and learning because I do not know enough”.
Later in the gig, Sheeran revealed the extent to which the controversy had affected him, saying he had considered whether to continue the tour – and his career. He also revealed that he had removed the usual B-stage from his set-up because he was “afraid of what might happen” if he stood in the middle of the crowd.
| 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
Meanwhile, Sheeran’s former support act Aaron Rowe has said people should direct their anger towards “the likes of Robert Kraft”. Elsewhere, Billy Bragg doubled down on his criticism of the singer-songwriter.
“I’m not impressed by Ed Sheeran’s attempt to deflect the current storm of criticism he is facing by promising to donate $2m to ‘aid in the region’ of the Middle East,” he wrote.
“It’s not just the ambiguity around the phrase itself, which hopes to avoid offending anyone by cloaking the sentiment in vagueness. It’s the idea that you can buy back your integrity.”
Ed Sheeran’s ‘Loop’ tour is set to continue in North America until early November, before he heads to South America and Mexico City later that month and into December.
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