New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been accused of playing a central role in Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s national tour, following intense criticism over the rapper’s onstage “Free Palestine” remarks.
It was confirmed Monday that Macklemore, 43, born Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, would no longer continue on the tour after several prominent U.S. venues reportedly told promoters they would not host his performance.
With the venue refusals threatening to derail dates for thousands of ticket-holders and potentially jeopardize the full tour, organizers ultimately opted to drop Macklemore from the lineup.
Soon after the announcement, the “Thrift Shop” artist addressed the controversy in an Instagram post, alleging that Kraft, an observant Orthodox Jew, had urged other stadium owners to issue an ultimatum.
In a lengthy Instagram post, Macklemore said: ‘Ed is my friend. I’ve known him for 13 years. I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened [in Gaza].
“Ed told me Robert Kraft had called him,” Macklemore wrote. “We were due to perform at Gillette Stadium, owned by the Kraft Group, later this month. According to Ed, Kraft said I would not be permitted to take the stage at his stadium.
Macklemore has been removed from the remaining dates of Ed Sheeran’s LOOP Tour after drawing widespread backlash for a “Free Palestine” speech earlier this month
The rapper alleged that Robert Kraft helped drive the decision to take him off the tour
Macklemore made his claims about Kraft in a lengthy Instagram statement shared Monday
“Ed also said Kraft had brought together several other stadium owners, and that they issued a collective ultimatum: Keep Macklemore on the tour, and you will not be able to perform at our venues.”
The rapper added: “I hope this does not mark the end of my relationship with Ed. A friendship spanning 13 years should not vanish over one deeply painful disagreement.”
‘I hope we both continue listening, studying what is happening in Palestine and wrestling with what neutrality means in a moment like this. My door will always be open to continuing that conversation.’
The drama started when Macklemore used his opening set to chant ‘Free Palestine’ and deliver a politically motivated speech.
Macklemore, whose words were slammed by Pink, stated that every human being deserves the same freedom, and told the crowd he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
He then performed his protest song Hind’s Hall while images of the devastation in Gaza were projected on the big screens at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Macklemore also faced a boycott petition calling for his removal from Sheeran’s tour for the blunt and direct language he used onstage.
He was the opening act for Sheeran’s Loop tour on two consecutive nights, September 4 and September 5, at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
Macklemore also faced a boycott petition calling for his removal from Sheeran’s tour for the blunt and direct language he used onstage. Above, Sheeran and Macklemore in 2013 at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City
According to Macklemore: ‘Kraft rallied some of the other stadium owners and they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.’
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Macklemore has also previously voiced support for Palestinians and called out Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and has continued doing so for years.
As seen in fan-taken footage, he wore a keffiyeh at one point during his set.
During his performance, he said he had a message to share with the Palestinian people and wanted them to know ‘they have not been forgotten.’
He said: ‘One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages in stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine. I said, Free Palestine!
‘I want those words to be loud and clear so that people from Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them.’
Elsewhere in his statement, Macklemore claimed that Sheeran informed him that the phrase ‘Free Palestine’ was ‘hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with’.
The rapper continued: ‘Ed was in a f***ed up position. He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before.
‘He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with. I told him that if those words were more offensive than 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. But he couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides.”
The rapper claimed Sheeran said ‘Free Palestine’ was a ‘hurtful’ phrase to ‘a lot of people’
Pink reposted an Instagram Story from StopAntisemitism, which slammed Macklemore’s performance and demanded an apology to the concertgoers
Meanwhile, Pink weighed in on Macklemore’s recent controversy, amid calls from fans for the rapper to be removed from the tour.
The singer, 47, reposted an Instagram Story from StopAntisemitism, which slammed Macklemore’s performance.
The caption on the post read: ‘Awful – Jewish fans bought tickets to see Ed Sheeran sing last night in NJ, not to be ambushed by Macklemore’s anti-Israel propaganda.
‘Instead, Macklemore walked onstage in a keffiyeh, shouted “Free Palestine,” accused Israel of a false “genocide,” and turned a mainstream event into a political nightmare against the Jewish state. Concert goers are owed apologies and refunds.’
Meanwhile, the rapper’s allegation against Kraft come just days after it was revealed that the Patriots chief had donated $10million to Brandeis University to put towards the creation of the ‘Robert K. Kraft Family Center for Jewish Life and Leadership’.
In a statement provided to the university, Kraft said: ‘Brandeis University’s longstanding commitment to excellence, belonging, and Jewish traditions and values has shaped generations of leaders.
‘The Kraft family has always been proud to support Brandeis and I am pleased to strengthen the work of the university and create a Hillel on campus to help educate and inspire students to carry forward the university’s mission.’