Great British Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain has appeared to accuse Ed Sheeran of displaying “white tears” and positioning himself as the victim after the singer issued an emotional apology over the Palestine controversy surrounding his US tour.
The TV chef shared the video as Sheeran, 35, faced mounting criticism over the removal of one of his support acts after performers made “Free Palestine” statements from the stage.
Other artists supporting the tour reportedly withdrew in solidarity with rapper Macklemore. Sheeran later became tearful during a performance in Philadelphia on Saturday, addressing the backlash and admitting he had made “mistakes” in dealing with the dispute. He also said he was uncertain whether the tour would continue.
Hussain, who is Muslim, has now posted the video to her one million Instagram followers, with its message suggesting that Sheeran’s emotional response amounted to “white tears.”
The clip stated: “If the tears of Palestinians and Black, Brown and Indigenous communities carried as much gravity, genocide would not happen.”
The phrase “white tears” is used by some activists and commentators to describe moments when a white person’s emotional reaction is viewed as shifting attention away from racism, inequality or oppression.
The former Great British Bake Off winner did not add a personal statement to the post. Instead, it featured British therapist Megan Cooper discussing Sheeran’s onstage remarks and saying: “We’re all waking up to Ed Sheeran’s statement on stage, and I’m not going to go into what he said, but I do want to focus on one specific point.
“For those of us in white bodies, we need to understand and educate ourselves on white tears.”
Cooper described the term as “a cultural tactic using emotion, consciously or unconsciously, to deflect accountability, gain sympathy and centre the self during conflict and challenge, particularly in conversations about racism and oppression.”
She continued by arguing that, in this situation, “emotion meets whiteness” as well as patriarchy. “So what we have are not just tears, it’s power,” she said.
“What happens is we become the victim. Our emotion is now prized above the actual issue, in this case, genocide. What this shines a light on is whose tears get to be seen, listened to and heard in our society, and whose don’t.”
Nadiya Hussain appears to have endorsed claims that Ed Sheeran was displaying “white tears” after the singer became emotional during his troubled US tour.
Ed Sheeran became visibly tearful on stage as he apologised for the way he handled the Israel-related controversy surrounding his new tour.
The Mail has contacted Ms Hussain for comment.
Sheeran has maintained that the decision to remove Macklemore was made by his promoter rather than by him personally. Speaking to fans in Philadelphia, he said he had “found out who his friends are” and added: “I cannot hide how I feel any more.”
The singer acknowledged that he had made “mistakes” in responding to the controversy. He also moved away from his earlier promise to keep politics out of his concerts, describing the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic and unjustifiable” while calling Hamas’s October 7 attacks “horrific.”
Appearing on stage for the first time since his Loop tour was thrown into turmoil, the father of two said he had never intended to become an activist musician. However, he said the intense criticism had forced him to make and accept difficult decisions.
“I really didn’t know whether this tour would be carrying on,” he told the crowd. “In these situations, you really find out who your friends are, and it’s been a weird week. I just feel like it happened very quickly.
“In the back of my mind, I saw the ticket sales for this gig. I didn’t see cancellations; I saw people buying tickets for this gig.
“Everyone’s telling me to cancel, and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me.”
‘I look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me. People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this.’
Sheeran said his heart had been broken ‘by the scale of devastation and loss of lives’ and became emotional as he told a cheering crowd: ‘I’m so grateful you are here with me tonight.’
He apologised and became visibly emotional again at the end of the show for bringing politics to his concert – something he had vowed not to do.
Sheeran said at the end of the night: ‘The one thing that I would like to apologise for is the first bit of the show where it wasn’t about music and I had to talk.
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Should Ed have kept politics out of his concerts?
The video shared by Hussain, who did not add any comment of her own, featured therapist Megan Cooper who spoke of Ed Sheeran and the need to learn about white tears
Sheeran returned to the stage in Philadelphia on Saturday night for the first time since 43-year-old Macklemore, real name Benjamin Haggerty, was axed from the tour
‘I understand that people have children here and I understand that families didn’t buy a ticket to hear that first bit of the show, but that was something I felt like I needed to say.’
Sheeran had previously said that ‘those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum’.
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The gig at the Lincoln Financial Field marked the first time the star returned to the stage since the rapper Macklemore was dropped as his opening act after taking a vocal stance in favour of a ‘Free Palestine’.
In a solemn speech at the start of the concert, Sheeran said: ‘I have tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music and shows to be about unity and not division, about humanity and not politics. But this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore.’
‘What happened in Israel at Nova music festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.
‘What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate,’ Sheeran said in a video captured and shared online by a concertgoer.
‘My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives, and the systemic injustice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked,’ he declared.
Sheeran told the audience that he plans to ‘continue my current tour’ despite each of his openers dropping out.
Activists demanded freedom for Palestine as they gathered outside of Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night
By the end of the show, Sheeran broke down into tears, telling fans: ‘I’m so grateful. The world is a scary place right now. America is a scary place right now. This gives hope. This gives hope.’
The crowd broke out in applause as Sheeran appeared deeply moved.
‘My shows are about this,’ he said. ‘They are about people coming together that don’t know each other, that have different beliefs. They’re about unity. They’re about love. They’re about family.’
As fans cheered, Sheeran vowed that the controversy would not stop him from performing.
‘You’re jumping around like maniacs with each other and having fun,’ he said. ‘And I will never stop doing this. I will never stop doing this. I love doing this so much.’
It came after Macklemore said Sheeran had spoken to Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts through his holding company, the Kraft Group.
‘Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues,’ he wrote.
On Tuesday, Sheeran released his own statement on Instagram, saying it wasn’t his decision to remove Macklemore from the tour, but rather the promoter’s.
‘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,’ the British singer-songwriter added.
Sheeran said in the lengthy statement that he has ‘personal views on this devastating conflict’ but made the choice ‘not to speak publicly’.
He has faced criticism from other artists, including Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, who bashed him on social media for not taking a stand against the decision.
Ed Sheeran’s cousin last week branded the pop star a ‘coward’ for dropping pro-Palestine Macklemore.
Jethro Sheeran, who at 44 is nine years older than his cousin, responded to the row by saying he was ‘ashamed’ of his relative.
In a furious post on Facebook, he said: ‘Finally it’s all coming out! I’m ashamed of my cousin Ed and what he’s done.
‘Finally the world and all his fans see through him. He’s not a good person, I don’t like his music so I can’t say he’s even a good artist.’
Billie Eilish’s brother, Finneas, pulled out of his scheduled appearances in upcoming tour dates, stating that ‘artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed’.
Tour openers including Aaron Rowe and the band Lukas Graham, along with Sheeran’s long-time backing folk band Beoga, also withdrew from the endeavour.
In his address to fans on Saturday, Sheeran stated: ‘I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry.’
He said: ‘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 in the most complex political issue on the planet.’
The pop star continued: ‘Our concerts have always been a safe space for everyone, and that matters hugely to me. Honouring my commitment to my fans is also completely central to who I am and that is why I’m here tonight, on my own, and continuing my own tour.’
He went on to say: ‘I am deeply worried about the idea that venues pre-approved content performance. This happens in so many places that I’ve gone around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.’
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