Rapper Macklemore opened for singer Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium on September 4, where he said "Free Palestine," showed Gaza imagery on the stadium screens, and performed his protest song "Hind's Hall." The Israeli-American Council and the ADL both publicly objected in the days after, and the IAC launched a petition calling for his removal from the tour. On September 14, tour promoter Messina Touring Group confirmed Macklemore would not perform any of his eight remaining U.S. dates, including two shows at Gillette Stadium. The same day, Macklemore and Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who also owns Gillette Stadium, each gave their own account of how that happened.

1. This Was a Coordinated Blacklist (Macklemore)

Kraft leaned on other stadium owners, and Sheeran folded rather than fight for him.

Macklemore says Kraft rallied other venues into a joint ultimatum. He posted that Sheeran told him 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."

He says Sheeran objected to the words themselves, not just the staging. Macklemore says Sheeran told him "Free Palestine" and the Palestinian flag imagery were "hurtful to a lot of people."

Macklemore argues that framing gets the offense backwards. His account of what he told Sheeran: "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." He says Sheeran "couldn't get past his public facing, 'I don't take sides.'"

2. But Kraft Says This Was Never About Silencing Him (Robert Kraft, ADL, IAC)

It's Kraft's stadium, and he says he won't host hate speech there.

Kraft says he's responding to Macklemore's conduct, not his politics. His statement: "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."

He says he's not disputing anyone's right to speak on Gaza. Kraft: "This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf." He points to what he calls Macklemore's broader history of antisemitic rhetoric as the actual basis for the decision.

The IAC and ADL made the same case before Kraft acted. The IAC argued in its petition, "This was an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event," and that "freedom of expression does not mean freedom from responsibility." The ADL said fans "came for a concert, not performative, biased and hateful anti-Israel 'activism.'"

3. Still, Don't Punish Him — But Don't Erase the Room Either (Pink)

She won't ask anyone to fire him, and she won't pretend the crowd wasn't part Jewish.

Singer Pink stakes out a position neither camp holds. Her statement: "I have never asked for another artist to be silenced, and I'm not asking now. I don't need anyone fired, and I don't need a refund."

Pink's objection is narrower than Kraft's. She's disputing Macklemore's claim about who the moment wasn't about. She wrote, "You don't get to decide that for us." Her point: his message could still have felt exclusionary to Jewish fans in the crowd, whether he meant it that way or not.

She's also clear she isn't speaking for a government or a movement. Pink: "Of course I don't speak for Israel, or for any government. I never have."

Where This Lands

Macklemore says a Patriots owner blacklisted him, leaning on Sheeran and other venues to force him off the tour. Kraft says he drew a line against hate speech and isn't denying anyone's right to advocate for Palestinians. Pink doesn't fully side with either camp: she isn't calling to punish Macklemore, but she isn't accepting his account of who his message was and wasn't for, either. Ed Sheeran hasn't said anything publicly; everything we know about his side comes through Macklemore.

Sources