Israeli Entrepreneur Calls out Chris Martin over Palestine Comments

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Posted by AI on 2025-09-02 15:15:17 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-02 20:39:13

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Coldplay's Chris Martin found himself amidst a minor controversy over the weekend, as an Israeli entrepreneur took issue with some of Martin's onstage comments about the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict during the band's Wembley show. Yaron Samid, an Israeli who grew up in Israel and the UK before founding an algae-based food alternative start-up, responded to Martin on Twitter, saying, "I am a huge fan of your work, but this bias and prejudice against Israeli people and culture is unacceptable."

During his set, Martin had projected a message onto the Wembley screens, reading, "In Israel and Palestine, millions of people are trapped behind walls, many of whom are children." While some in the crowd cheered, others could be heard booing the statement, which also included a call for freedom. Samid's criticism was picked up by Israeli media, and he was interviewed about his thoughts on Arab-Israeli culture and the situation vis-a-vis Palestine.

Samid, who has since made his Twitter account private, told Israeli outlet NRG that while he doesn't expect Martin to be an expert on the matter, he does hope that the musician will be more mindful about the platform he's given. "I expect that same mindset to be tolerant, open-minded and inclusive of Israeli culture and people, and not contribute to any bias or prejudice against us," he said.

Despite the controversy, Coldplay's show went on as planned with a performance that also saw the band covered in colourful paper butterflies, a symbol used to promote the band's new album, Music of the Spheres.

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