Macklemore says he was dropped from Ed Sheeran tour after Robert Kraft organized boycott

Macklemore has been dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour after he says New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft organized a boycott among stadium owners over the rapper’s remarks in support of Palestinians. The “Thrift Shop” rapper posted a lengthy statement to his Instagram on Monday alleging that Sheeran was called by Kraft to inform the singer Macklemore was not welcome at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Sheeran’s tour was scheduled to play at the venue, which is owned by Kraft Entertainment + Sports Group. “Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues,” Macklemore wrote. A representative for Kraft Entertainment + Sports Group did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment on Monday. Kraft, who is Jewish, created the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in 2019 and is a longtime supporter of Israel. There is a webpage dedicated to his Israel-related philanthropic efforts on the Kraft Group’s site.“The Kraft family has supported and launched numerous programs that create a connection to Israel and Jewish life,” the site said. “Their commitment has helped build a robust economic relationship between Boston and Israel, the results of which have created jobs and fostered technological innovations in both communities.”Macklemore added that Sheeran, who he described as a friend, was in a “f---ed up position.” The two have had “difficult” conversations over the past week, according to Macklemore, that ended in a place of “fundamental disagreement.” “He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flags were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with,” Macklemore wrote. “I told him that if those words were more offensive than the tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood.” According to Macklemore’s account, Sheeran was not able to get past his desire to remain an apolitical public figure. Macklemore has been deeply outspoken about social and political issues throughout his career, releasing the song 2012 song “Same Love” in support of same-sex marriage three years before it was legalized in a Supreme Court decision. He released a song called “Hind’s Hall” in 2024, referencing an anti-war protest at Columbia University in which students took over a building and renamed in honor of 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza. “The problem isn’t the protests, it’s what they’re protesting,” the song lyrics say. “It goes against what our country is funding.” He performed the song while opening for Sheeran at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month. According to videos posted social media, Macklemore told the crowd that part of why he wanted to be on the tour was to be able to be in stadiums to say “Free Palestine.” The clips of Macklemore drew controversy and criticism, including from fellow artist Pink, who identifies as Jewish. She put out a statement on Friday explaining why she reposted a social media post critical of Macklemore’s performance. She wrote that she was not trying to get any artist fired or silence anyone, but she took issue with Macklemore putting “violent images” of the Israel-Hamas War up in a stadium filled with families and then telling Jews in the audience that “it wasn’t about them.” “You don’t get to decide that for us,” she wrote Friday. “That’s what prompted my repost. Not ‘Free Palestine,’ and not anyone’s right to say it.” Representatives for Pink and Sheeran did not immediately responded to a request for comment on Monday. The company working on Sheeran’s tour, Messina Touring Group, told Rolling Stone on Monday that they were informed that multiple venues “will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.” Cancellations would “impact hundreds of thousands of fans,” the statement said, confirming that Macklemore would not longer perform on his previously scheduled dates. Macklemore told his followers that he is not a victim, nor are Pink or Sheeran. He wrote that the victims are the Palestinian people who have been “forced to live through unimaginable violence.” He also said he understood why many people do not take a side, but pointed out that he has been outspoken in his position for three years prior to the tour. The decision to remain outspoken about the war has become something Macklemore said he considers a duty.“An entire people being displaced, starved, and killed while the world debates which words we allowed to use to describe it, how those words make us feel, and whether our discomfort matters ore than the people living through a genocide,” he wrote. Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage, prompting a multiyear war offensive by Israel into Gaza. More than 73,000 people in Gaza have died as a result of Israel’s attacks in the enclave, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. A ceasefire was declared in October, though fighting has still occurred since the announcement.