Lisa Nandy says Ed Sheeran in an ‘impossible position’ over Macklemore Gaza row | The IndependentJump to contentSwipe for next articleIndependent Bulletin homepageDownload our appAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.Subscribe`; document.body.appendChild(modal); modal.addEventListener('click', () => { document.cookie = 'mos-plan-select=; Max-Age=0; path=/; expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 UTC;'; }); modal.querySelector('.subscribe-link')?.addEventListener('click', (e) => { e.preventDefault(); document.cookie = 'mos-plan-select=; Max-Age=0; path=/; expires=Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 UTC;'; setTimeout(() => { window.location.href = 'https://www.independent.co.uk/subscribe/app'; }, 500); });});]]>Rosie SlaterWednesday 16 September 2026 09:32 BSTMore Ed Sheeran supporting acts quit in support of MacklemoreCulture Secretary Lisa Nandy has offered her sympathy to Ed Sheeran after his opening acts and backing musicians abandoned his world tour in response to rapper Macklemore being dropped over remarks regarding Gaza.Speaking to LBC, she said she really felt for Ed Sheeran and that he had been left in an “impossible position”, because he was trying platform support acts while dealing with promoters who didn’t want politics being brought into his performances."I hope it doesn’t harm his tour. He’s one of our most successful artists and also one of the nicest people I’ve ever worked with … I have enormous sympathy for the position that he finds himself in," Ms Nandy said.She also noted that many music fans prefer to separate concerts from political debate and just “enjoy the music”.She said: "The world is quite a difficult place at the moment, and I think a lot of people do also quite like to have a space where they can go, where they can leave all of that aside.”In fullAll supporting acts quit Ed Sheeran’s tour after Macklemore is dropped over Palestine commentsMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in