Rapper Macklemore has been removed from the remaining U.S. dates of Ed Sheeran's stadium tour after multiple venue operators refused to host him, with the decision escalating when New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft barred him from performing at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The trouble began during Sheeran's shows at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sept. 4 and 5, where Macklemore opened the concerts. During his sets, he wore a keffiyeh, displayed footage of destruction in Gaza, performed his song «Hind's Hall» and led the crowd in «Free Palestine» chants. The song includes lyrics accusing Israel of genocide. Macklemore later said the tour gave him a massive platform to promote his political message.
Kraft, whose Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium, issued a statement explaining that the rapper's stage behavior and what he described as a «broader history of anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery» led to the decision. «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. «Based on Macklemore's recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran's shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of anti-Semitic 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 shows would not be permitted.»
Tour promoter Messina Touring Group confirmed Macklemore's removal from all remaining U.S. dates after multiple venue operators refused to allow him on the lineup. Eight of the remaining 10 tour stops were scheduled for NFL stadiums, giving the dispute broad reach across the league's venues.
Macklemore claimed that Sheeran told him Kraft had rallied other stadium owners against keeping him on the tour. In a social media post, the rapper blamed venue operators and Kraft for his removal while acknowledging that Sheeran had been placed in a difficult position. He did not accept Kraft's characterization of his comments as hate speech and insisted that losing his tour spot was a price he was willing to pay.
The controversy has been compounded by Macklemore's past. In May 2014, he performed in Seattle wearing a bushy black beard, a dark wig and a large prosthetic nose. Civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, condemned the outfit as resembling historical anti-Jewish caricatures. Macklemore claimed at the time that the costume was a random coincidence. That incident resurfaced with the release of «Hind's Hall,» a song referencing student activists who occupied Columbia University's Hamilton Hall.
Critics argue that Macklemore routinely condemns Israel from the stage while ignoring the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks by Hamas that sparked the current war. Kraft, who founded the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in 2019, also addressed what he viewed as the rapper's selective presentation of the conflict. «This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf,» Kraft stated. «But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, a designated terrorist organization whose horrific actions have caused immeasurable suffering.»
Kraft added that supporting innocent civilians while standing firmly against Hamas and antisemitism should not be mutually exclusive. «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,» he said.
The removal marks a rare instance in which a stadium owner's political and religious concerns directly reshaped a major touring lineup. With the remaining dates scheduled for NFL venues, the decision by Kraft and other operators effectively ended Macklemore's participation in one of the fall's most prominent stadium tours.