New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirmed that he made the decision to bar Macklemore from opening for Ed Sheeran at Gillette Stadium after the Seattle rapper expressed support for Palestinians and called for a “Free Palestine” at a recent show.
In a statement shared with Rolling Stone, Kraft said the call was based on the rapper’s “recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.” (Along with Macklemore‘s recent statements, Kraft appeared to be alluding to a 2014 incident where Macklemore was accused of dressing up as an antisemitic caricature. The rapper apologized, but insisted he was just trying to disguise himself.)
Adding that Gillette Stadium was committed to “providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that all events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech,” Kraft said that the venue decided that Macklemore’s participation in Sheeran’s two upcoming shows at Gillette “would cross that line.” (Macklemore has been dropped from not only the Gillette Stadium shows, but the rest of Sheeran’s Loop tour.)
Kraft’s statement was released after Macklemore, in his own comment, alleged that Kraft called Sheeran and told him the rapper “would not be allowed to perform in his stadium.” However, Kraft did not acknowledge Macklemore’s other major claim about the situation: that Kraft also “rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave [Sheeran] an ultimatum: If Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.” (A rep for Kraft did not immediately return a request for comment on that allegation.)
The uproar over Macklemore and his spot on Sheeran’s Loop tour erupted after the rapper joined the trek in early September for two shows at MetLife Stadium outside New York City. At the first gig, Macklemore yelled “Free Palestine”; expressed solidarity with people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank; showed images of the devastation from Israel’s war on Gaza; and performed his protest song, “Hind’s Hall,” about pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia University.
“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine,’” Macklemore said onstage. “I said, ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”
In his own statement, Kraft insisted his decision to ban Macklemore from Gillette was “not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf.” He argued, however, that such advocacy “should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas.”
He continued: “Too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering, but only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest and only advances more divisiveness and hate. Over many decades, I have directed resources to Palestine and created athletic and entrepreneurial opportunities for Palestinians who I admire and respect. Standing with the Palestinian people and standing against Hamas, antisemitism and hate should not be mutually exclusive.”
Kraft, who is Jewish, is a strong supporter of Israel and Jewish causes, having donated millions of dollars to them over the years. He’s also spearheaded several efforts to combat antisemitism, which he referred to in his statement, saying he feels “a responsibility to stand up when I believe that line has been crossed.”
Macklemore, both onstage and in his own statement, has rebuffed the argument that voicing support for Palestinians and criticizing Israel and its actions in Gaza and the West Bank is antisemitic. “Antisemitism is real,” he wrote after being dropped from Sheeran’s tour. “And that is exactly why the word matters too much to be used as a shield against criticism of the Israeli state. When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying ‘Free Palestine’ gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn’t protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.”
In closing his statement, Kraft expressed his “tremendous respect” for Sheeran and “his unique ability to bring people together and spread joy.” He also said he would “welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same — peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.”
A rep for Macklemore did not return a request for further comment.
