Billy Bragg “not impressed by Ed Sheeran’s attempt to deflect the current storm of criticism” and questions $2million donation

Billy Bragg has doubled down on his criticism of Ed Sheeran following Macklemore being dropped from the ‘Loop’ tour due to his pro-Palestine comments. Bragg had previously said that Sheeran risked “tarnishing” his career and becoming “a pariah” over the controversy, arguing that the singer should “swallow [his] pride” and cancel the tour rather than allow venue owners to dictate what artists could say from the stage. Now, in an Instagram post shared ahead of Sheeran’s show at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field last night (September 19), Bragg said he was “not impressed” by the singer’s response to the mounting criticism. “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.” The $2million figure emerged after Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft said Sheeran had called him and asked him to commit the same sum to “aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis”, matching...