Saturday Night Live United Kingdom takes another jab at Ed Sheeran amid controversy surrounding his Loop Tour.
During his opening monologue on the September 26 episode of the British spin-off, Chicken Store Date host Amelia Dimoldenberg reflected on the end of her popular YouTube interview series, which she recently announced would end after more than 12 years.
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On Chicken Store Datethe English comedian sits down with celebrities for awkward, deadpan dates in chicken shops. The series has featured some of music’s biggest stars, including Paul McCartney, Jack Harlow, Charli XCX, Rosalía and Yungblud.
“I’m incredibly privileged to have done so many interviews with people like Idris Elba, Cher and even a world famous redhead puppet with one hand on her a- telling her what to say,” Dimoldenberg told the audience under a photo of herself alongside Sesame StreetElmo appeared on screen.
She then gestured for another photo, saying: “No, the other one,” as an image of her alongside Sheeran flashed on the screen.
The joke references Sheeran’s appearance in Chicken Store Date in November 2021, when Dimoldenberg met the singer at Sam’s Chicken in London.
THE SNL UK The move comes as Sheeran’s Loop Tour faced controversy following Macklemore’s withdrawal from the US leg after the rapper made remarks about “Free Palestine” during his first set in early September. Macklemore was originally scheduled to open Sheeran’s concerts in the United States, but was pulled from the tour after his two performances at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on September 4 and 5, where he chanted “Free Palestine” and performed his politically charged protest track “Hind’s Hall.”
SNL UK previously mocked Sheeran in the September 19 episode, when actress Annabel Marlow portrayed the singer-songwriter as a “fence sitter” caught between humans and AI in a sketch featuring King Charles and a rogue AI assistant modeled after Princess Diana.
Afterwards, Sheeran performed two shows in Philadelphia without any opening acts, telling the crowd that he wanted his concerts to focus on unity and humanity rather than politics.
Macklemore has since announced a Free Palestine tour, with shows planned in Dublin on October 26, Paris on October 29 and London on October 30. Proceeds from the concerts will benefit organizations providing humanitarian and other support to Palestinians.
Look at the one in Dimoldenberg SNL UK monologue below.
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