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Gorillaz have kicked off their 2026 US tour and the band’s frontman, Damon Albarn, urged the crowds not to be “neutral” in the face of atrocities in Gaza.
During the concert at Orlando’s Kia Center this weekend, Albarn took a Palestinian flag from an audience member, lifted it above his head and told the crowd: “Don’t forget this. Ever. Stand your position. Don’t ever be neutral.”
While not the first artist to be outspoken on stage about the atrocities in the Middle East, as many artists like Massive Attack, Kneecap, Fontaines D.C., Patti Smith and more have expressed solidarity with the plight of the Palestinian people, Albarn’s words resonate in the wake of the Ed Sheeran controversy.
Heated discussion continues regarding artists’ ability to freely express their thoughts about Palestine following Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech during Sheeran’s tour and the rapper’s subsequent removal from the line-up.
Gilette Stadium owner Robert Kraft stated that he found Macklemore’s speech “deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community”, resulting in his dismissal – despite Macklemore saying during his speech: “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.”
Sheeran, who returned to the stage this weekend without his supporting acts or backing band, who all quit in solidarity with Macklemore, addressed the situation and admitted to making “mistakes”. He also revealed that the controversy left him questioning whether he wanted “to be an artist at all”.
“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet,” he said. “The last week of my life was been one of the worst weeks… Tonight has been honestly the best show of my life. (…) In this situations you really find out who your friends are… People I’ve knew from years ago are backing away.”
His comments have garnered further criticism, as many online saw it as Sheeran making the controversy about himself rather than the devastating loss of lives.
Several artists have backed Macklemore and slammed Sheeran. Massive Attack said that “neutrality in the face of the slaughter of more than 20,000 children can never be neutrality”, while ex-Pink Floyd Roger Waters called Sheeran a “little prick”.
As for Albarn, this is far from the first time the artist has spoken out about Palestian rights.
Speaking to Channel 4 News last year, he said: “I think it’s about not denying the legitimacy of Palestine, not denying the historical presence of Palestinians and recognising the genocide that is taking place there. (…) It’s impossible to watch. It just feels so horrendously helpless and we cannot deny the Palestinians their existence, which is what’s going on at the moment. It’s just wrong. Palestinians belong there and you can’t just kick them out. It’s not acceptable.”
Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. The Gaza health ministry has reported more than 73,000 deaths in the last three years of Israeli bombardment. Organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations have described Israel’s actions as “genocide”.
A report published in June by a UN independent commission found that “Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide and atrocity crimes in the Gaza Strip and war crimes in the West Bank.”
A previous report last September by a United Nations-appointed Commission of Inquiry found that Israel had committed genocide and claimed that these acts were incited by senior Israeli officials, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel has repeatedly labelled the accusations as “defamatory” and “distorted”.