Amelia Dimoldenberg turned an apparent Elmo joke into a pointed jab at Ed Sheeran during her Saturday Night Live UK opening monologue on Saturday, September 26. The Chicken Shop Date creator mentioned famous people she has interviewed, then described a redheaded puppet being told what to say. An image of Elmo appeared behind her before she delivered the punch line-"No, the other one"-and the screen switched to a photo of Sheeran.
The joke drew on more than Sheeran's hair. It followed the removal of rapper Macklemore from Sheeran's U.S. Loop Tour after Macklemore made pro-Palestinian remarks onstage. Sheeran has said the decision belonged to the tour promoter, not to him. The promoter said venues had indicated they would not allow concerts to proceed with Macklemore on the lineup.
Dimoldenberg's puppet comparison appeared to challenge how much control Sheeran exercised over the situation. It was a comedian's criticism, rather than evidence that someone dictates what he says. That distinction is central to the dispute: Sheeran says he did not decide to remove Macklemore, while critics have continued to question his public response to the decision.
This was not the show's first Sheeran joke. An earlier SNL UK sketch portrayed him as unwilling to take a side in the controversy. Dimoldenberg's monologue brought the criticism back in a quicker, more personal form, using a picture from her own interview with Sheeran to make sure the audience knew exactly whom she meant.
Sheeran has addressed Macklemore's removal, but reports of the monologue have not included a response from him to Dimoldenberg's joke. For now, the question behind the laugh remains the one surrounding his tour: when a promoter makes a decision affecting an artist's show, how much responsibility will audiences still expect the artist to take?
