The political standoff between New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour and pro-Palestine rapper Macklemore continues to grow as the tour has been swept up in a whirlwind of issues that have nothing to do with music. It appears as if Kraft and Sheeran are losing the battle as the remaining opening acts for Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour have quit in solidarity with rapper Macklemore, who was dismissed from his opening spot for “Free Palestine” comments during the tour’s opening shows.
Three Opening Acts & Ed Sheeran’s Touring Band, Leave Loop Tour In Support Of Palestine
Macklemore said on Monday that several venues — led by Robert Kraft, whose company owns Gillette Stadium — told Messina Touring Group that the rapper was banned from performing at their stadiums for saying “Free Palestine” and performing his protest song “Hind’s Hall” while opening for Sheeran.
In a statement last Tuesday, Sheeran attributed the decision to bounce Macklemore to the tour’s promoters. As a result, the three acts scheduled to open the remaining tour dates — Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Finneas — shared on Instagram that they wouldn’t play. Beoga, a traditional Irish band that was acting as Sheeran’s touring band, also decided to leave the tour. The results of this political dust-up have been disastrous for Sheeran.
“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” said Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and an artist working on the tour. “I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”
Irish acts Rowe and Beoga felt that supporting the banning of Macklemore for wanting to end war and political oppression in the world would be willfully ignoring the history of their own ancestry. Rowe said that the Irish people “know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation.”
Ed Sheeran Gets Political Backlash For Not Fighting Robert Kraft’s Decision To Ban Macklemore From Tour
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic representative who serves New York’s 14th congressional district, recently told Charlie Cotton that she is boycotting Ed Sheeran because she says he’s complicit in Robert Kraft and other stadium owners’ efforts to silence Macklemore. So this situation can lead to more protests and boycots with Sheeran dragged into Robert Kraft’s political strong-arm.
New England Patriots Owner Removed Macklemore From Ed Sheeran Tour For “Hate Speech” against Jews
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is right in the center of this drama as he started it by barring Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium and reportedly also pressuring the venue’s tour promoter to drop him from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour altogether due to the rapper’s onstage pro-Palestine political statements.
Kraft commented that he removed Macklemore from the tour because the 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.”
“Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line,” Kraft said in a statement shared with ESPN.
Kraft let it be known what side he was on in this political discord, and he will stop the money of any artist going against what he believes is right.
Sheeran Doesn’t Want To Use Platform For Politics
Sheeran, however, said Tuesday that he didn’t want to use his “professional platform for politics.” It was an easy way to bail out of getting in the middle of this political dispute. However, Sheeran and Messina Touring Group, which promotes the tour, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Their silence on the matter isn’t a good look either, but it’s clear that he supports Kraft’s decision and actions in the matter.
“I respect Macklemore’s strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes,” Sheeran responded Tuesday. “However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace.”
Kraft, who is an 85-year-old billionaire Jewish man, said his decision “is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf.”
“Their pain and loss are real,” Kraft said in a statement. “But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, a United States and globally (including Canada, European Union, United Kingdom, and Japan) designated terrorist organization whose horrific actions have caused immeasurable suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike.“
“I agree with Macklemore. Too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering, but only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest and only advances more divisiveness and hate. Over many decades, I have directed resources to Palestine and created athletic and entrepreneurial opportunities for Palestinians who I admire and respect. Standing with the Palestinian people and standing against Hamas, antisemitism and hate should not be mutually exclusive.”
Though the beef has been simmering for decades, the political unrest within this country elevated after Hamas-led militants bum rushed unsuspecting Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. The attack killed around 1,200 people and another 251 were abducted. In response, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that to this day and with the backing of the American government has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Fans React To Bob Kraft’s Ongoing Political Drama That Ended Macklemore’s Spot On Ed Shereen Tour
This adds another layer to the ongoing civil war here in America between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel factions. It’s also another example of how you can’t separate sports or music from politics because it will always become an issue when people are financially, emotionally and historically invested.
Some fans took Sheeran to task for not supporting Macklemore by leaving the tour. They feel he bowed down to the billionaire Kraft’s right-wing insensitivity.
“I bet you that if he came out with a red MAGA hat this would not happen. I dont like any of their music, but I thought Ed Sheeran was not a puppet… I was wrong,” said one fan, siding with Macklemore.
“Ed Sheeran literally has F-YOU money. He has lost my idea of him as a guy with a moral grounding. This was an easy win for him. The venues/promoter were liable. Macklemore said NOTHING OFFENSIVE. This is about censorship and friendship, Ed failed the test,” said a fan who is dissapointed in Sheeran’s failure to stand against Kraft.
“My point is not about the Palestine deal. It’s more of Ed Sheeran bowing down to a guy caught with underage girls,” expressed one X user.
“Is that the same Robert Kraft who got caught hiring a couple hookers a few years ago?” one netizen quipped.
“Crazy. His career is now going to be remembered as the one that wanted to quiet a voice who spoke up against a genuinely overlapping genocide of Gaza and Palestine! Cool story bro,” said another fan in support of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine platform.
Bob Kraft Has Support For Getting Macklemore Removed From Tour For Pro-Palestine Stance
“@macklemore when people come to a concert, they have paid for a product, that is the concert. If they wanted to attend a political event they would go to a rally or protest…. If you want to go on political rants, start your own tour and advertise it as such. Might want to downsize the venue though, you won’t need the extra seats,” one fan posted on X.
“Nobody wants to pay money to listen to musicians and performers lecture them about politics. They want to listen to music,” another Macklemore critic commented.
This current drama will surely lead to more politics invading the sports narrative.
