Do we like Chris Martin?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Years of visible support for LGBTQ+ fans, climate action and charity, with two onstage moments that divided people and a business dispute that settled.
The messiest recent stoush came at Wembley in August 2025, when he pulled two young Israeli fans on stage. The crowd of about 90,000 cheered and booed, and he said he was grateful they were there “as humans”, then welcomed Palestinians in the audience too. Some Israeli and Jewish fans called it tactless and said it left them feeling conditionally tolerated, while others read it as an even-handed plea for shared humanity. Where you land depends on whether you heard reassurance or condescension.
A few weeks later at Wembley he paused before Fix You and asked the crowd to send love to Charlie Kirk's family, adding that you can send it to people you disagree with too. Some social media users were furious, saying Kirk wasn't spreading love and that they'd stop listening to Coldplay. Supporters would say it was a call for kindness at a moment of grief. Either way, it was a call for love, not a political endorsement.
On the harm check, the record is good. He has waved a rainbow flag through People of the Pride for years, famously wrapping it round his face at Radio 1's Big Weekend in 2024. That year he also pulled a trans fan on stage in Dublin after reading the fan's sign, telling him the band needed him as much as he needed them. On the planet, Coldplay paused touring in 2019 until concerts could be made more sustainable, and nothing harmful turned up in our searches.
The one proper blemish is business. His ex-manager Dave Holmes sued for £10 million in commission after being dismissed in 2022, and Coldplay countersued for £14 million, alleging he was partly responsible for blown-out tour costs. It ended in a confidential seven-figure settlement in 2024, so nobody got a verdict. Add the Boston kiss-cam moment, where Martin cheekily joked about a pair on screen, and that's the full list of dramas.
The good stuff is real. Martin has curated Global Citizen Festival since 2015, joined Oxfam on a 2005 trip to Ghana to meet farmers about fair trade, and Coldplay gives 10% of its profits to charity. He's been doing this for two decades, not just in the PR window.
As for what's next, he told NME the plan to wrap up the album catalogue after 12 albums is real, though the band will keep touring. He also said he'd like to help younger artists. At a September 2025 London show he promised more dates for 2027. So the rainbow-flag wavers keep their tour, even if the albums are winding down.