Bono Reveals Ed Sheeran’s Stance on Politics During U2 Collaboration ‘Yours Eternally’

Bono has revealed that Ed Sheeran was reluctant to engage in political statements when collaborating with U2 on their single “Yours Eternally.”

The “Shape of You” singer recently found himself at the center of controversy after Macklemore was removed as a support act for his “Loop” tour following an on-stage speech calling for a “free Palestine.”

Gillette Stadium owner and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft described the speech as “deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community,” with artists like P!nk and the Israeli American Council calling for Macklemore’s removal.

Sheeran’s band and other support acts, including Finneas and Aaron Rowe, subsequently withdrew from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. Sheeran himself later returned to the stage in Philadelphia, apologizing for “making mistakes.”

Around the time Macklemore was removed from the tour, Sheeran addressed the situation, stating he was “not complicit” and “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine,” describing the suffering on both sides as a “tragedy.”

“Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have [opinions], and it doesn’t mean I don’t care,” he shared. “Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum… I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed.”

Now, Bono has revealed that Sheeran expressed a similar sentiment during their collaboration earlier this year on the song “Yours Eternally.”

The track, released as part of the band’s surprise EP Days of Ash, features Ukrainian artist-turned-soldier Taras Topalia and is written from the perspective of a soldier in Ukraine amidst the war with Russia.

“I would say with Ed and Macklemore that we shouldn’t personalise this, what’s going on,” Bono told Rolling Stone UK in a recent interview. “Brian Eno said today that pop stars are like little fish in a large sea of huge forces and religion and politics… And so I don’t want to dwell on Ed and Macklemore and that incident.”

However, Bono went on to recall that during their work on “Yours Eternally,” Sheeran asked him, “You’re not going to get me into politics, are you?”

“I said, ‘This soldier who inspired us, he loved you Ed and you’ve worked on this song’,” Bono shared, adding that Sheeran replied, “Yeah, but I just want to keep my thing free.”

“You can’t be pushing people around,” Bono concluded, with drummer Larry Mullen Jr. agreeing, stating that artists have the right to choose whether they want to be involved or not, and it is not their job to criticize those choices.

“It is complicated,” Mullen Jr. added, noting that while U2 respects individual stances, they draw the line at billionaires or promoters having the power to stifle free speech on stage—an apparent reference to Robert Kraft’s role in Macklemore’s removal from the tour.

“We are absolutely clear about promoters or billionaire owners and the idea that they could have some influence on what you say or what you do on a stage,” he told the outlet. “We’ve talked about this, and [if] you applied that logic to U2, we would have been out of business on ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday’.”

When U2 released “Yours Eternally,” they also debuted a powerful documentary film directed by Ukrainian cinematographer and filmmaker Ilya Mikhaylus, capturing the daily lives of soldiers on the frontlines of the war.

“For four years, Ukraine has been resisting Russia’s full-scale invasion, and the soldiers of the Khartiya Corps are among the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians defending their homeland,” shared Mikhaylus at the time.

“In this short film, and in the upcoming full-length documentary, we attempt to show the beating human heart of those incredible men and women, the struggles and sacrifices they are making everyday for the most sacred thing on this planet – freedom.”

The Days of Ash EP, featuring six tracks, was described by Bono and the band as a response to current events, dedicated to those fighting on the frontlines of freedom.

Regarding the Sheeran and Macklemore controversy, prominent figures including Greta Thunberg, Massive Attack, Roger Waters, Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey, Amelia Dimoldenberg, and Hayley Williams have voiced their opinions. Billy Bragg criticized Sheeran’s attempt to “deflect the current storm of criticism.”

Macklemore subsequently donated his entire $1 million earnings from the tour to six organizations supporting Palestinians, while Kraft announced that Sheeran had asked him to match a $2 million humanitarian contribution.

Elsewhere, Sheeran’s two scheduled shows at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium were canceled due to “severe weather warnings.”

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