Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez charged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft with coordinating with stadium owners to suppress the Gaza speech following the removal of the rapper Macklemore from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour after he supported Palestinians during his performance.
The New York Democrat raised the allegations in a Fox News interview clip.
“What has happened with the act and not just in removing Macklemore from the lineup, but when you see what Robert Kraft did to line up all of the stadiums to censor speech in that one specific way, it’s become clear that this is not just about one music artist or two music artists, but this is about how just a handful of stadium owners and the elite can prevent an entire massive issue, in this case, the genocide in Gaza,” Ocasio-Cortez said in her interview with Fox News.
Benjamin Haggerty, aka Macklemore, opened for Sheeran on September 4th and 5th at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. During those performances, the 43-year-old Seattle rapper wore a keffiyeh, projected footage of Gaza’s destruction on screen, performed his 2024 protest song “Hind’s Hall,” where he accuses Israelis of genocide, and chanted “Free Palestine” with the audience.
After the event, the Israeli American Council launched a petition urging Sheeran to drop him from the remaining dates.
Messina Touring Group, promoting the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, said in a press release that venues had been informed they would not allow Macklemore to perform alongside Sheeran, which would have canceled the tour. Macklemore was to perform in 8 out of the 10 remaining shows across the United States, mostly at NFL stadiums. Messina decided to pull the rapper from the tour schedule.
Robert Kraft, 85, owner of the Kraft Group and Gillette Stadium, confirmed on Monday that he has barred Macklemore from performing at his stadium during Sheeran’s shows scheduled for September 25th and 26th. In a statement to ESPN, Kraft said the venue tries to ensure events “do not provide a platform for hate speech.”
He referred to the rapper’s recent actions, the projection of the footage at the New Jersey venue, and “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery,” which he considers deeply offensive and hurtful for the Jewish community.
Robert Kraft, who is Jewish and founded the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in 2019, said the decision “is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf.”
He adds that this advocacy can’t come to the detriment of the Jewish community or obscure Hamas’ responsibility for their actions, the group which has been listed as terrorist by the United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Kraft also said that he would like to meet with Macklemore to discuss the facts.
While Kraft’s statement clearly explains the venue’s position on the hate speech, it does not address the rapper’s claims about coordination among the stadium owners.
In a long Instagram post on Monday, Macklemore said Ed Sheeran told him he received information about his removal from the tour schedule. “Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. 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.”
He says he didn’t intend to cause pain and that Sheeran is his friend, but that doesn’t give him the right to stay silent. Macklemore also states that criticism of the Israeli government can’t be associated with antisemitism. In 2014, the rapper apologized for his onstage costume, which included a fake nose, admitting that it could be considered a Jewish caricature.
In reply, Sheeran, 35, posted on Instagram Tuesday, explaining that the decision wasn’t his. “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision; it was not mine.” The rapper said that his contract was with the promoter and he tried to speak with venues, including Kraft, to find a solution, but the venues and promoter reached a final decision. He added that he keeps his personal views on the conflict private and “I am not complicit.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned Kraft and other stadium owners’ actions. It stated that if venues with public ownership participated in this pressure campaign, it would violate the First Amendment. Washington Democrat Pramila Jayapal, representing Macklemore’s hometown, said that she finds this removal “incredibly disappointing.” Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Abdullah Hammoud, Mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, who invited the rapper to perform in his city, also expressed their support for the rapper.
The Gaza war started on October 7th, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, leaving about 1,200 people dead and 250 hostages. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the death toll reached 73,000 among Palestinians in June. The UN commission found that Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza last year, which Israeli officials called distorted and false.
Sheeran’s remaining shows in the U.S. include Philadelphia on September 19th, Foxborough on September 25th and 26th, Atlanta on October 3rd, Indianapolis on October 10th, Charlotte, North Carolina, on October 17th, Arlington, Texas, on October 24th, and Tampa, Florida, on November 7th.
