Macklemore removed from Ed Sheeran tour over ‘Free Palestine’ comments, suggests prominent NFL owner was involved
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The Grammy Award-winning rapper shared a lengthy message on Instagram regarding his removal from the tour, placing blame not on Sheeran, but New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Macklemore is no longer part of Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop stadium tour, according to the rapper and the tour promoter, Messina Touring Group. Several venues have allegedly vowed they would not host Sheeran or any supporting acts if Macklemore continued on the bill following his comments for a “free Palestine.”
The Seattle rapper, whose comments about supporting Palestinians in Gaza and on the West Bank onstage have produced several artists to back and support him, took to Instagram shortly after the news became public and revealed that Sheeran had been contacted by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who suggested to Sheeran that if Macklemore was still on the tour, Sheeran couldn’t perform.
“Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,” Macklemore wrote. “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.”
The venues that allegedly asked for his removal from the tour include Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina; AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Kraft and his family, the Kraft Group, own Gillette Stadium.
“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans,” Messina Touring Group said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
In his message, Macklemore stated that he only needed two shows to share his message for a “free Palestine” as he performed at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and September 5. During those shows, he performed with a backdrop of images from the devastation in Gaza and performed “Hind’s Hall,” a song centered on pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia University who occupied a building at the university and renamed it after a five-year-old girl who was killed by the Israeli military in January 2024.
“What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years,” he wrote. “So why is it an issue now?”
Other artists who’ve been outspoken of Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza championed Macklemore’s message.
Kehlani commented, “A LOT of the venues / owners are rallied together this way. honored to know you brother. adore you. behind you!!!!” The singer herself had shows canceled in 2025 over her support of Palestine and Gaza, with venue promoters citing “safety concerns” as the reason. In a video shared online, Kehlani reiterated that they were not antisemitic, but rather “anti-genocide.”
“I am being asked and called to clarify and make a statement yet again, for the millionth time, that I am not antisemitic nor anti-Jew,” she shared in a video uploaded last April. “I am anti-genocide, I am anti the actions of the Israeli government, I am anti an extermination of an entire people, I am anti the bombing of innocent children, men, women — that’s what I’m anti.”
Pro-Israel groups have petitioned for Macklemore to be removed from the tour before Monday’s decision. In a statement, the Israeli American Council urged Sheeran to make a decision, citing the Seattle rapper’s message questioning “where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda.”
“Freedom of expression does not mean freedom from responsibility,” the coalition wrote. “Your show. Your stage. Your responsibility. Keep Ed Sheeran’s LOOP Tour about music – not political propaganda.”