Unsurprisingly, Ed Sheeran took a fair few knocks when Saturday Night Live UK returned for the second instalment of its new season over the weekend.
Saturday’s live show came at the end of a week of controversy for the Lego House singer, in light of him bowing to pressure to drop Macklemore as the opening act of his Loop Tour, following comments made by the rapper on stage in support of Palestine.
SNL UK’s episode kicked off with a comedy sketch in which Larry Dean’s Prince Charles was introduced to an AI-bot modelled off Princess Diana (played, naturally, by Jack Shep), who became autonomous and incited a war between humans and artificial intelligence.
Cast member Annabel Marlow then entered dressed as Ed Sheeran, declaring: “I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation – you see, I was just outside sitting on the fence.”
“I don’t want to take sides,” the Ed character added. “I don’t want to alienate any of my fans. Humans or my robots. You know, sometimes, when it comes to conflicts, the bravest thing you can do is to say nothing at all.”
Meanwhile, the show’s regular Weekend Update segment went in even harder on the Grammy winner.
Comic Ania Magliano began: “The Israel-Palestine conflict just got serious. That’s right, Ed Sheeran’s US tour is under threat.
“Sheeran’s support act, Macklemore, was dropped after saying ‘Free Palestine’ on stage. Will Sheeran have to cancel the tour? There’s a very real risk that he won’t.”
“Genuinely, though, this crisis is the worst thing that has happened to Ed Sheeran fans since their head injury,” she continued.
Paddy Young later added: “To his credit, [Ed Sheeran] has been a long-standing supporter of Ukraine. Say what you want about Ed, but he’s always been a passionate advocate of causes that are allowed.”
SNL UK aired around the time that Ed resumed his Loop Tour for the first time since his remaining support acts and backing band pulled out of the shows amid the controversy, following Macklemore’s departure from the tour.
During the gig, Ed reflected on what he described as “one of the worst weeks of my life”, claiming that “so many people” he’s “known for years and years and years” had been “falling out of my life” in recent days.
He also somewhat clarified his stance on the Middle East conflict before telling fans: “The world is a scary place right now. America is a scary place right now. This gives hope. Thank you so much, Philadelphia.”
Saturday Night Live UK continues this weekend at 10pm on Saturday night on Sky and Now, with Amelia Dimoldenberg on guest hosting duties.
