Police in India Shut Down Ed Sheeran’s Street Performance
It seems they are not in love with the shape of him!
Ed Sheeran, who stopped in India for his Mathematics tour, had a surprise live performance on the streets of Bengaluru, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Fans were surprised (who wouldn’t?) to see the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter singing “Shape of You.”
However, not everyone was a fan since the police came and stopped the singer in the middle of a song.
Policeman Unplugs Ed Sheeran’s Microphone
While fans were singing along, a cop came and unplugged the singer’s microphone. People reported that two men tried to intervene, and Sheeran attempted to continue with his performance even with the interference. But when his microphone was unplugged, he smiled and just shrugged. In some of the videos uploaded by people present, Sheeran can be heard saying, “We have permission to be here, but this policeman is shutting us down. But we’ll see you later.”
Social media users are divided. Some are siding with the singer, while others are defending the police. One commenter wrote, “Maybe they should focus on arresting the scammers that bring such misery to peoples lives and brings the perception of the country down.” Another wrote, “Playing music in the street should NEVER be considered a crime.”
One wrote in defense of the police, “All the people, blaming police and calling it just street performance knows nothing about that locality. It’s a very thin street, and cars and bikes travel on this street! By performance you are blocking the road, that’s NOT ACCEPTABLE. Even a Stampede can take place, if not controlled it’s so bad!”
After the video went viral, Sheeran posted on his Instagram story that they had permission to perform. He wrote, “We had permission to busk, by the way. Hence, us playing in that exact spot was planned out beforehand. It wasn’t just us randomly turning up. All good though. See you at the show tonight x,” according to The Independent.
However, Bengaluru police official Shekar T Tekkannanavar said, “I refused to give permission because Church Street gets very crowded. That is the reason he was asked to vacate the place.”
Still, Sheeran seemed to have a good time in India, mic-unplugging situation aside, based on his Instagram account, where he posted pictures and videos of his time in the country.
