‘Saturday Night Live’ roasts Ed Sheeran once again for tour controversy

Saturday Night Live or SNL UK have left no stone unturned when it comes to roasting personalities through their sketches and this time it was Ed Sheeran once again.

The 35-year-old has been at the centre of controversy in recent weeks after Macklemore announced he had been fired from the singer-songwriter’s Loop tour over his pro-Palestine comments at an earlier gig.

Sheeran’s other opening acts withdrew in solidarity, while protesters gathered outside his first Macklemore-less concert last week.

Making her SNL hosting debut on Saturday Amelia Dimoldenberg, the host of Chicken Shop Date, referenced the controversy in her opening monologue.

Describing her journey to hosting the late-night sketch show, Dimoldenberg said she was “incredibly privileged” to have made it this far and spoke about some of the famous people she has interviewed on her popular web series.

“I’m incredibly privileged to have done so many interviews with people like Idris Elba, Cher, and even a world-famous redheaded puppet with a hand up his arse telling him what to say,” said Dimoldenberg as a photo of her and Elmo showed up on the screen. “No, the other one,” she said, before the photo swapped to another of herself and Sheeran.

This is not the first time that SNL UK has called out the situation wrapped in humor. Last week’s episode saw the cast take on Sheeran in a sketch that viewers praised as “one of their best.”

In it, a war breaks out between AI robots and humans, with King Charles insisting that they do everything they can to resist the takeover before Sheeran, played by cast member Annabel Marlow complete with a ginger wig, fake tattoos and a loop pedal, suggests: “Or maybe we shouldn’t.”

Having been “outside sitting on the fence”, Sheeran tells the King, “The thing is, your Majesty, I don’t like to take sides. I don’t want to alienate any of my fans – humans or robots. A lot of my tickets are bought my scalping bots. Sometimes when it comes to conflicts, the bravest thing you can do is to say nothing at all.”

Poking fun at Sheeran’s initial statement in which he said he does not use his “professional platform for politics” Marlow then sang in character, “I’m talking ‘bout both sides are equally right. No matter the conflict, whatever the fight. Girl listen now, black, white, I only see grey.”

Earlier this month, Macklemore claimed that Robert Kraft, the CEO of Kraft Group who owns Gillette Stadium, personally called Ed Sheeran to say he would not be allowed to perform at the venue, while the Shape of You singer later responded by stating he would not be drawn into a public debate about the Gaza war and that it was “the promoter’s decision” to remove Macklemore.