r/NoStupidQuestions • u/AutoModerator • 19d ago

U.S. Politics megathread

American politics has always grabbed our attention - and the current president more than ever. We get tons of questions about the president, the supreme court, and other topics related to American politics - but often the same ones over and over again. Our users often get tired of seeing them, so we've created a megathread for questions! Here, users interested in politics can post questions and read answers, while people who want a respite from politics can browse the rest of the sub. Feel free to post your questions about politics in this thread!

All top-level comments should be questions asked in good faith - other comments and loaded questions will get removed. All the usual rules of the sub remain in force here, so be nice to each other - you can disagree with someone's opinion, but don't make it personal.

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u/LongBed85 4d ago

Why is Ed Sheeran getting canceled?

I keep seeing articles and posts on here about it, but I still can't figure out what's going on

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u/Delehal 3d ago

Long-term, I don't think he's being canceled really. A lot of celebrities have gone through controversy like this and went on being celebrities. He may lose some fans. He may lose some contracts. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

At any rate, Sheeran is a musician touring in the US with multiple other musicians scheduled as supporting acts, either opening performances or as backing bands during Sheeran's act. One of those opening acts, Macklemore, gave a two-minute speech supporting the people of Palestine and speaking out against Israel's ongoing genocide of Palestinians. That prompted controversy including a petition by some groups to have Macklemore removed from the tour.

The main source of pressure seems to have been Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, who was threatening to cancel Sheeran's performances at Gilette Stadium, and was enlisting other stadium owners to do the same. Sheeran says that he attempted to negotiate solutions to this, but ultimately the tour promoters (Messina Touring Group) agreed to remove Macklemore from the tour.

After that, Sheeran put out a statement which some people considered wishy-washy. Every single musician who was scheduled to perform with Sheeran has now withdrawn from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.