Macklemore says Ed Sheeran dropped him from Gillette concert after call from Robert Kraft

Rapper Macklemore said Ed Sheeran has dropped him from his concert tour, including an upcoming performance at Gillette Stadium, amid controversy over his "Free Palestine" comments and a phone call from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Macklemore was set to open for Sheeran in Foxboro, Massachusetts on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26. But his name has now been scrubbed from Gillette Stadium's website.

In an Instagram post, Macklemore said Sheeran told him last Monday that Kraft called about the upcoming performance at Gillette, which Kraft owns.

"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."

Robert Kraft responds

Kraft has been outspoken in his advocacy to combat antisemitism, spending millions in a "Stand Up to Jewish Hate" campaign. He released a statement on Monday saying, "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."

"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.

Macklemore's "Free Palestine" comments

During a concert at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month, Macklemore said he joined Sheeran's tour, "so I can stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine." He then performed a song that was inspired by pro-Palestinian students who illegally took over part of a Columbia University building. 

The Anti-Defamation League called Macklemore's comments "hateful" and said he "has a record of demonizing Israel and Israelis, falsely accusing Israel of genocide and engaging in antisemitic rhetoric and behavior." 

Macklemore wrote in Monday's Instagram post that "Antisemitism is real."

"When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying 'Free Palestine' gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn't protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability," he said.

Kraft said in his statement that he agrees with Macklemore that "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."

"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.