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Former Chicken Shop Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg took aim at Ed Sheeran in a fiery Saturday Night Live UK opening monologue.
“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 do,” Dimoldenberg, 32, began in her Saturday, September 26, speech, sharing footage of one of her Chicken Shop Date videos with Sesame Street puppet Elmo.
She quickly added, “No, the other one,” as cameras flashed a photo of Dimoldenberg posing with Sheeran, 35, from his 2021 appearance on Chicken Shop Date. (The show, where Dimoldenberg interviewed celebrities from a British chicken restaurant, wrapped earlier this year.)
Sheeran sparked controversy earlier this month after his Loop Tour opening act Macklemore was dropped from the concert lineup over backlash to his pro-Palestine remarks. (Macklemore, 43, was dismissed by Sheeran’s tour management company after the rapper chanted “Free Palestine” during two concerts at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.)
Sheeran, who has since donated $2 million to provide global humanitarian aid, denied personally letting Macklemore go. His other support acts have since voluntarily left the Loop Tour bill in solidarity with the “Thrift Shop” rapper.
The “Azizam” singer, meanwhile, returned to his Loop Tour in Philadelphia on September 19, without any support acts, where he apologized for making “mistakes.”
“I’m used to my music being criticized, and I’m always happy to take that because I’m lucky. A lot of you like my stuff, and to be honest, I’m surprised,” Sheeran began the concert. “I’m not surprised that I’ve even done it. You know, it’s normal.”
He added, “This week, the criticism was about something much more important, and I’ve had to take [it in] and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so so sorry. … This has put me in the middle of an important, passionate argument about freedom of speech on the most complex issue on the planet.”
That same day, SNL UK poked fun at the drama and called out Sheeran for “sitting on the fence.”
“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 by scalping bots,” a cast member portraying a version of Sheeran brought in to help the monarchy thwart a supposed AI-led war quipped. “You know, sometimes when it comes to conflicts, the bravest thing you can do is to say nothing at all.”
Sheeran, who did not publicly address the SNL UK dig, was scheduled to perform his next concerts at Boston’s Gillette Stadium on Friday, September 25, and Saturday, September 26, that were both canceled due to inclement weather.
Saturday Night Live UK airs on Sky One live Saturdays at 10 p.m. BST.
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