Coldplay were “booed” by fans who hit out at the band after Chris Martin gave a shoutout to right-wing American activist Charlie Kirk during a gig at Wembley Stadium on Friday.
While performing their Music of the Spheres show which they have taken around the world, Martin addressed the crowd before playing the band’s 2005 hit “Fix You”.
A video captured Martin, 48, encouraging fans to raise their hands and “send love anywhere you wanna send it in the world”.
He said: “You can send it to Charlie Kirk’s family. You can send it to anybody’s family, you can send it to people you disagree with but you send them love anyway.”
@itslisamc2 Chris Martin asked fans to send love to ‘people they disagree with but send them love anyway’ #coldplaywembley #coldplay
♬ original sound - Lisa Mc
Kirk is the only person who received a named-shout out from Martin during the concert, which comes after his death on Wednesday in what authorities have called a “political assassination”.
Martin also encouraged fans to “send love” to their family members, or anyone who has “been going through terrible stuff”, while also addressing “peaceful people in the middle east and Ukraine and Russia and Azerbaijan and Sudan and Somalia”, followed by celebratory fireworks.
Coldplay fans have hit out at the band, with several concert attendees taking to social media to speak out against Martin’s shoutout for Kirk and his family.
One X user, @space0dyssey, who claims to have attended the concert wrote “I booed” and complained it was “insane” that Kirk’s was “the only name mentioned”.
Another X user @rossmacronald said “I would walk out” if they had been present at the concert when the dedication was made, while others including @crockoreptile questioned why Coldplay would make such a dedication.
Why Coldplay dedicating a song to Charlie Kirk???
— *sigh* (@crockoreptile) September 13, 2025
On X, @griftinghater said: “I’m listening to the first Coldplay album and crying about how Charlie Kirk is dead”.
I'm listening to the first coldplay album and crying about how Charlie Kirk is dead
— Critical Nothing (@GriftingHater) September 13, 2025
Kirk’s death has sparked controversy and debate online after he was shot at Utah Valley University on Wednesday while he was answering a question about gun violence in America.
Kirk, a husband and father of two, was an ally of Republican President Donald Trump and co-founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing organisation which encourages young Americans to adopt conservative views.
The controversy marks the second time Coldplay have come under fire during their recent stint at Wembley, after Martin was accused of “dehumanising” Jewish fans who he brought on stage earlier this month.
Martin invited two fans on stage on 31 August after apparently seeing their sign which read “We Believe in Magic”, a reference to one of Coldplay’s hits.
Once they appeared on stage, the pair identified as Avia and Tal, were booed by the audience after revealing they were from Israel.
In an effort to settle the crowd, Martin said he would treat the fans as “equal humans on earth regardless of where you come from”, which was criticised as being “dehumanising”.
In response, Arts organisation Creative Community for Peace took to X to hit out at Martin’s comment, writing: “Why did Israelis need to be reminded they will be treated as humans? Aren’t Israelis humans already?
“This is exactly the dehumanization Jews face again and again, and it’s shameful that it played out on a stage meant for music and unity.”
This came weeks after Astronomer chief executive Andy Byron and his head of human resources Kristin Calbot were exposed for sharing an intimate embrace on the band’s “kiss cam” at another concert in the US.
The Standard has contacted Coldplay’s team for comment.
