Macklemore says his run on Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour was cut short after a backlash over his “Free Palestine” comments, and he’s now pointing the finger at New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
The rapper joined Sheeran’s U.S. dates earlier this month, but his stint was over almost as soon as it started. Things turned after his September 4 performance at MetLife Stadium, where he told the crowd he wanted to use the platform to say “Free Palestine.” He followed that with Hind’s Hall, his 2024 protest song, while images from Gaza were shown on the stadium screens.
The reaction came fast. Pink, who was also on the bill, later reshared a post calling for Macklemore’s removal, and the Israeli American Council started a petition pushing for the same outcome. By Monday, Messina Touring Group confirmed he would not play the rest of the dates.
Macklemore then laid out his side in a long Instagram post, saying Sheeran told him Kraft had personally called to say he would not be allowed to perform at Gillette Stadium. The Kraft Group owns the venue. He also claimed Kraft had brought other stadium owners into a group ultimatum aimed at Sheeran’s team.
“Ed was in a f***ed up position,” Macklemore wrote. “His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before.”
He said Sheeran told him that “Free Palestine” and the Palestinian flag had been described as hurtful by people Sheeran had spoken with. Macklemore said he didn’t back down.
“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.”
Messina Touring Group’s statement did not mention Kraft or anyone else by name. It said only that unnamed venues had told the tour they would not host a show with Macklemore on the bill. Representatives for Kraft, Sheeran, and the venues involved have not publicly confirmed or denied Macklemore’s version of events.
Two of the venues said to be involved, Gillette Stadium and Bank of America Stadium, are privately owned. The rest of the tour stops are under public or municipal ownership. Macklemore had been scheduled to appear at eight of Sheeran’s final ten U.S. dates before being removed, and the tour is set to pick back up on September 19 in Philadelphia.
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