Damon Albarn becomes the latest musician to turn his back on Ed Sheeran after Macklemore row as he tells fans 'don't ever be neutral'

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 11:21 EDT, 19 September 2026 | Updated: 11:35 EDT, 19 September 2026 Damon Albarn is the latest musician to turn his back on Ed Sheeran as he draped a Palestinian flag on his shoulder and declared: 'Don't ever be neutral.'Widespread outrage towards the Shape of You singer, 35, began on Monday when it was announced that Macklemore would be dropped from Sheeran's tour for his 'Free Palestine' speech on stage weeks earlier.All other supporting acts of the singer's worldwide Loop tour dropped out in solidarity throughout the week, yet Sheeran will go ahead with the tour and perform in Philadelphia on Saturday night.Pro-Palestinian demonstrations were planned outside the Lincoln Financial Field stadium where tickets were being sold for as little as £56 amid the ongoing controversy.Joining in on the backlash was the Blur frontman, 58, who on Thursday night, while performing on stage in Florida with his band, Gorillaz, used it as a moment to speak out against Sheeran.Taking a Palestinian flag from an audience member and dressed in a bizarre military-like uniform, he told the crowd: 'Don't forget this. Ever. Stand your position. Don't ever be neutral.' Damon Albarn is the latest musician to turn his back on Ed Sheeran as he draped a Palestinian flag on his shoulder and declared: 'Don't ever be neutral'A source close to Albarn confirmed the pro-Palestine message, delivered at the sell-out show at the Kia Centre in Orlando, was related to the Sheeran scandal.They added: 'Damon has made no secrets of his support for the Palestinian cause over many years. He just doesn't believe it's possible to stay neutral over the issue, and is surprised by the way Ed Sheeran has explained himself over the Macklemore stance. He thinks it's only made things worse.'Meanwhile, The Mail on Sunday has learned that the row began only weeks after the English singer had signed one of the biggest record deals in music history.After leaving the Warner Music label that first propelled him to fame after a 15-year contract, Sheeran concluded a new multimillion-pound deal with Interscope Records in July.Interscope won a highly competitive bidding war against Sony Music. The move reunited Sheeran with Interscope CEO John Janick, who previously worked with him during Janick's tenure at Warner's Elektra Records.On Monday, Macklemore shared a post on Instagram claiming Sheeran and his management had 'made the decision to remove' him from the Loop Tour. Sheeran and Albarn pictured together at the BRIT Awards in 2015The following day, Sheeran blamed the promoter for the removal of the rapper, who is a longstanding friend of his but is known to be politically outspoken, from the tour, which began in January.He wrote in a social media statement: 'Upcoming tour dates had communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting.'The Perfect singer added that Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft, whose venue was scheduled to host a show, was among those objecting.'I am not complicit,' Sheeran wrote. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn't mean I don't have them, and it doesn't mean I don't care.'Among the musical acts who have withdrawn from Sheeran's tour are Irish artist Aaron Rowe, Grammy-winning musician Finneas, who is Billie Eilish's brother, alongside Danish singer Lukas Graham.