Comedian Amelia Dimoldenberg took aim at Ed Sheeran during her opening monologue on “Saturday Night Live UK,” calling him a “world-famous red-headed puppet” in a jab tied to his recent falling-out with Macklemore over the rapper’s pro-Palestinian comments.
“I’ve been incredibly privileged to have done so many interviews with people like Idris Elba, Cher and even a world-famous, red-headed puppet with a hand up his ass telling him what to say,” Dimoldenberg, 32, said. When a photo of Elmo from “Sesame Street” flashed on screen, she corrected the audience: “No, the other one.” A photo then appeared of Dimoldenberg with Sheeran, 35, from a 2021 episode of her YouTube interview series “Chicken Shop Date.” Dimoldenberg did not elaborate further as the crowd cheered.
A representative for Sheeran did not immediately respond to a request for comment reported by Page Six.
The joke follows weeks of turmoil surrounding Sheeran’s Loop Tour, which began after Macklemore, 43, used a stop at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to voice support for Palestinians. “I wanted to stand up here on stages across America and say two words that are near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” Macklemore told the crowd.
Macklemore said afterward that Sheeran and his team removed him from the remainder of the tour. Writing on Instagram, Macklemore said, “I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim … We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.” He said the “victims are the Palestinian people … who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence.”
Other openers on the tour, including Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga, later withdrew in solidarity with Macklemore.
Sheeran gave his own account on Instagram, saying venues threatened to cancel his shows unless Macklemore was dropped. “I spoke with the venues at length all week to try and build a bridge,” he wrote, adding he tried to “find a mutual resolution for all, but the venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.” He said the decision belonged to the tour’s promoter, not to him, and that Macklemore’s contract was with the promoter rather than with Sheeran directly. “I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living,” he wrote, denying he was “complicit” in what he called the “devastating conflict” between “Israel and Palestine” and saying he avoids political statements because his fan base spans “all backgrounds.”
Sheeran later grew emotional at a Sept. 19 show at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, telling the crowd that friends and family had turned away from him over the controversy. “In these situations you really find out who your friends are. It’s been a weird week,” he said. “Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me.”
On Sept. 24, Macklemore announced a separate “Free Palestine Tour,” with proceeds directed to organizations supporting Palestinians.
Dimoldenberg’s own show, filmed at fried chicken restaurants around London since 2014, is winding down; its final series premieres Oct. 2.
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