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The Ed Sheeran street art in Bath street has been defaced for the second week in a row, this time with dollar sign stickers and a Star of David.
Last week the words ‘Free Palestine’ were painted on after rapper Macklemore was removed from the British singer’s United States tour for making pro-Palestinian remarks on stage.
Thursday morning’s additions come after mural artist Tyler Kennedy Stent welcomed the addition of the slogan to his work.
He implored the Dunedin City Council and the building owner to consider the words Free Palestine “a valuable collaborative component of my mural and leave them be”.
"Being born in South Africa, I am particularly conscious of the role international pressure played in challenging apartheid."
He said the 1981 was a “powerful example” from history of people refusing to accept sport, culture and politics could simply be separated when fundamental human rights were at stake.
"I believe the same responsibility extends to celebrities and others with public platforms and influence.
Sheeran apologised at the weekend for his handlking of the controvery which resulted in his support acts and back band abandoning the tour.
"I've had to take and make difficult decisions and I am making mistakes and I'm so, so sorry," Sheeran told an audience in Philadelphia.
At the start of the concert at Lincoln Financial Field, Sheeran called the October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1200 Israelis "horrific."
But he called Israel's subsequent war, which has killed thousands in Gaza and displaced almost all of the population, "catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate."
Sheeran also decried "systemic injustice" in the West Bank, where Israel's right-wing coalition government has allowed a massive expansion of Jewish settlements.
- Allied Media/Reuters