Macklemore Blames Jewish NFL Owner For Getting Him Booted From Ed Sheeran Tour

Rapper Macklemore’s anti-Israel rant onstage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey got him booted from singer Ed Sheeran’s tour — and he responded by blaming a Jewish man.

Macklemore released a lengthy statement on Monday via Instagram, doubling down on his anti-Israel stance and then claiming that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft — who is Jewish — was behind a concerted effort to get him removed from the tour.

 

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“Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour,” he wrote, adding, “I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families. The victims are the Palestinian people.”

Macklemore alleged that Kraft, whose company owns Gillette Stadium, refused to let him perform during Sheeran’s upcoming shows at the Massachusetts venue and “rallied” other stadium owners to take the same position.

“We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group,” Macklemore wrote. “Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. 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.”

Messina Touring Group, which is promoting the tour, confirmed earlier Monday that multiple venues had said they would “not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.” The company said Macklemore was dropped following “discussions with stakeholders.”

Painting himself as a noble martyr for the cause, willing to risk losing everything for what he believed in, Macklemore proceeded to suggest that Sheeran was a coward for refusing to choose a side.

“Ed was in a f*cked up position. He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before,” Macklemore wrote. “But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle.”

He went on to claim that he’d been shut down because if he had been allowed to keep making such statements from the stage — and he most certainly would have continued to do so — he might have inspired other artists to speak up.

“If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance,” Macklemore said. “Maybe that’s why this time it became so important to silence me.”

Kraft confirmed that Gillette Stadium had refused to host Macklemore but said the decision was based on what he described as a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric.

“Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech,” Kraft said in a statement.

“This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf,” Kraft continued. “Their pain and loss are real. But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas.”

Kraft said Macklemore had presented selective information and ignored Hamas’ role in causing suffering among Israelis and Palestinians. He also offered to meet with the rapper to discuss the situation.

“I 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.”

Macklemore said he hoped the disagreement would not end his 13-year friendship with Sheeran.

“I hope we both continue listening, studying what is happening in Palestine and wrestling with what neutrality means in a moment like this,” he wrote.

“I didn’t need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2,” Macklemore concluded. “Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say. Free Palestine. But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”