{"id":616942,"date":"2026-09-15T16:40:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T16:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/616942\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T16:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T16:40:10","slug":"ed-sheeran-responds-to-macklemore-over-robert-kraft-tour-boycott-claims-and-palestine-remarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/616942\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran responds to Macklemore over Robert Kraft tour boycott claims and Palestine remarks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed Sheeran was among many who expressed support for Macklemore after the rapper released a statement saying New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft organized a stadium boycott that forced the rapper off Sheeran\u2019s tour. <\/p>\n

Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, alleged Monday that Kraft called Sheeran and threatened to cancel Sheeran\u2019s planned tour stop if Macklemore was still performing. He also alleged that Sheeran told him Kraft rallied other stadium owners to give Sheeran the same ultimatum. <\/p>\n

The ultimatum came amid criticism of Macklemore for his pro-Palestine remarks during his opening performances for Sheeran\u2019s tour at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. <\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d Macklemore said of his conversation with Sheeran. <\/p>\n

Sheeran issued a statement Tuesday morning on Instagram, <\/a>saying it was important to \u201cset out some facts.\u201d He confirmed that he approved Macklemore\u2019s setlist and that venues contacted him, saying they would pull his tour dates after the rapper joined him at MetLife.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was informed that this stance was based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance, rather than everything that was said,\u201d Sheeran said. \u201cI spoke with venues at length all week to try and build a bridge. One of those people was Robert Kraft.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ultimately, the tour promoter decided to pull Macklemore, Sheeran said. The \u201cPerfect\u201d singer said Macklemore\u2019s contract was with the promoter, not Sheeran. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict,\u201d Sheeran said. \u201cJust because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t have them, and it doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t care.\u201d <\/p>\n

He added that he doesn\u2019t use his \u201cprofessional platform\u201d for politics because the audiences who attend his show come from all backgrounds and \u201cdo not expect a political forum.\u201d Sheeran expressed respect for Macklemore and said people can take multiple approaches. <\/p>\n

\"MacklemoreMacklemore performs in France in August.Arnaud Finistre \/ AFP via Getty Images file<\/p>\n

Messina Touring Group, the promoter for Sheeran\u2019s tour, told Rolling Stone Monday<\/a> that it was informed that multiple venues \u201cwill not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement said cancellations would \u201cimpact hundreds of thousands of fans,\u201d confirming that Macklemore would no longer perform on his previously scheduled dates.<\/p>\n

Macklemore\u2019s Instagram post announcing he was dropped from the tour received nearly 800,000 reposts in less than a day. He\u2019s received support from all types of public figures, including fellow artists, actors, activists and internet personalities. <\/p>\n

Ms. Rachel, the wildly popular children\u2019s content creator whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, posted a statement to her own Instagram account. She criticized Sheeran for trying to show \u201cthat we won\u2019t be bullied\u201d into punishing people who support Palestinians.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead he caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows,\u201d Accurso wrote. \u201cA genocide is happening in Gaza. We all need to speak out against it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A United Nations commission said that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza in findings from an independent inquiry published last year<\/a>. Israeli government officials have denied the allegations, calling them \u201cdistorted and false.\u201d<\/p>\n

Model Bella Hadid shared Macklemore\u2019s statement to her Instagram Stories on Monday and her sister, Alana, commented on the rapper\u2019s post. Their father, Mohamed Hadid, has previously shared the story of how his family was expelled from their home in Nazareth in the 1948 Nakba<\/a>, which saw an estimated 750,000 Palestinians forcibly removed in preparation for the founding of Israel.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old model did not comment directly on Macklemore\u2019s situation but shared a post by Middle East historian Assal Rad. <\/p>\n

\u201cPalestinians are so dehumanized that their advocates are punished while their killers roam free,\u201d Rad wrote. \u201cWhat does it mean for a society that condones rather than condemns the mass slaughter of children?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kneecap, the Irish artists who successfully fought a terrorism charge in the U.K.<\/a> over one of its singers waving a flag of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, posted a photo with Macklemore to their account. Macklemore is notably of Irish Catholic heritage, as is Ed Sheeran. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll love and solidarity to @macklemore,\u201d Kneecap captioned the post. \u201cFREE PALESTINE.\u201d <\/p>\n

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud invited Macklemore to perform at a concert sponsored by the city and free to the crowd. The Michigan city is home to the largest Arab American community in the country. <\/p>\n

\u201cHey @macklemore, if they don\u2019t want you performing in their stadiums, you\u2019re always welcome in Dearborn. Come put on a show here,\u201d Hammoud wrote in a post on X.<\/p>\n

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called it \u201cincredibly disappointing\u201d to see her constituent \u2014 Macklemore is a native of Seattle \u2014 removed from the tour because of his support for Palestinians. She added that it was a moment to find \u201cmoral conscience\u201d and \u201cend this genocide.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe should all be outraged that powerful people are more upset about what an artist says than the displacement, starvation, and killing of innocent Palestinian children and families,\u201d Jayapal said. \u201cThank you, Macklemore, for speaking up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., thanked Macklemore in a post on X for \u201ccontinuing to speak out against the genocide.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNone of us are free until all of us are free,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Sports journalist Jemele Hill remarked on the situation in a repost<\/a> of an announcement that Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, would be performing at AT&T Stadium in Texas in November. <\/p>\n

\u201cMan who released a song called Heil Hitler and called himself a Nazi completely welcome to perform in a stadium,\u201d Hill wrote. \u201cMan who said Free Palestine is not.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sheeran\u2019s tour is scheduled for a stop at the stadium in October. It\u2019s unclear which stadium owners allegedly told Kraft they would join the ultimatum issued to Sheeran. <\/p>\n

Representatives for AT&T Stadium, which is owned by the city of Arlington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News. <\/p>\n

Macklemore\u2019s own comment section is also filled with support. Celebrities Hannah Einbinder, Marcia Cross and Zara Larson left multiple heart emojis. Podcaster and internet personality Matt Rogers wrote \u201cmuch respect\u201d in an Instagram comment. <\/p>\n

Singer Kehlani, who has also been outspoken in her support of Palestinians, wrote that she was behind Macklemore and adored him.<\/p>\n

\u201cA LOT of the venues \/ owners are rallied together this way. honored to know you brother,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Activist Greta Thunberg wrote, \u201cFull solidarity and free Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cArtists\u2019 very active silence in the face of injustice and genocide will not be forgotten,\u201d Thunberg commented on Macklemore\u2019s post. <\/p>\n

In his own statement on Monday, Kraft did not deny Macklemore\u2019s accusations. He said the decision was based on Macklemore\u2019s \u201crecent actions\u201d on stage and \u201ca broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.\u201d <\/p>\n

Kraft added that the decision was not about trying to stifle Palestinian advocacy or diminishing the suffering of Palestinians.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same \u2014 peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate,\u201d Kraft said.<\/p>\n