Ed Sheeran became the butt of a sharp-witted joke during Amelia Dimoldenberg’s opening monologue on SNL UK. The former Chicken Shop Date host, went viral on social media for comparing the singer to a ‘puppet’ in a reference to his recent controversy involving rapper Macklemore.During the monologue, Dimoldenberg told the audience, “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 arse telling him what to say.”

Amelia Dimoldenberg roasts Ed Sheeran

When a picture of her interview with Sesame Street character Elmo appeared on screen, she added, “No, the other one,” after which, a photo of Sheeran appeared on-screen, prompting laughter and cheers from the audience.

About the Ed Sheeran and Macklemore controversy

The joke came after the controversy surrounding Macklemore being dropped from Sheeran’s US tour, following his comments supporting Palestinians. Macklemore had voiced support for Palestinians and said “Free Palestine” during a concert in New Jersey, which allegedly prompted the tour promoters to bar him for Sheeran’s gig.The singer subsequently clarified that he had not personally made the decision to remove the rapper, and said that it was the call of the tour promoters. Following his removal, several other supporting acts later withdrew from the tour in solidarity, leaving Sheeran to perform as a one-man act.The singer later addressed the controversy publicly when his tour resumed in Philadelphia on September 19. The singer apologised for how the situation had been handled and described the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic and unjustifiable”, while also condemning the Hamas attack of October 2023.

Ed Sheeran cancels gig

Meanwhile, Sheeran’s scheduled concerts at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts was cancelled this past weekend because of severe weather. Tour promoter Messina Touring announced the cancellation on Instagram, citing severe weather warnings across Boston and New England and saying the decision was made after consultation with local officials.“Due to the severe weather warnings in place in Boston and across New England throughout the weekend and following consultation with local officials, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium. The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority,” the promoter said.It added, “Refunds are available now at the point of purchase. Ticketholders who purchased through Ticketmaster will be automatically refunded.”