Boy George replies to satirical post claiming Ed Sheeran is replacing Macklemore with Netta
Boy George. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Boy George appears to have fallen for a fake celebrity news post — and the timing makes it particularly awkward.
On 15 September a popular parody account of the celebrity news X account Pop Crave, called Poo Crave, posted a completely fictional announcement claiming that Ed Sheeran would be replacing Macklemore as a headliner with Israeli pop star Netta Barzilai.
The post was satire. Boy George did not appear to realise that.
What Boy George posted
On 16 September, the Culture Club frontman replied underneath: “Like this move! Come on @edsheeran straight for the jugular!”
Macklemore, who had been performing as an opening act on the tour, used his September shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium to say “Free Palestine” and tell audiences that people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank had not been forgotten. He also spoke about immigration and equal freedom and performed his 2024 protest song “Hind’s Hall”, which addresses Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and directed its proceeds towards humanitarian efforts through UNRWA.
The remarks prompted the Israeli-American Council to petition Sheeran and his management to remove Macklemore from the remaining tour dates, arguing that the concerts should not be used as a platform for what it described as a “one-sided political agenda”. Some concertgoers reportedly walked out, while others praised Macklemore for using his platform to speak about Palestinian rights and humanitarian issues.
The comment also landed amid a wider run of online chatter involving Sheeran. On 16 September, comedian Hannah Einbinder took a playful swipe at Ed Sheeran in an Instagram Story, joking that she hoped he gets a “REALLY bad sun burn”, as celebrity reactions continued to circulate online.
Boy George’s previous posts
On 6 September, Boy George wrote on X: “I have never been an Ed Sheeran fan and nothing has changed.”
The following day, he criticised Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” message as lacking political knowledge and attacked Sheeran for what he described as having “no spine”.
Earlier this month, he also took aim at Paloma Faith after she showed support for Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech, as an online petition urged Sheeran and his management to remove Macklemore from the remainder of the tour.
