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Macklemore chanted “Free Palestine” after NFL owners hosting Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour were allegedly assured that the rapper wouldn’t mention it when he took the stage for his second show at MetLife Stadium.
Concert promoters for Sheeran’s “Loop Tour” told several team owners that the “Thrift Store” artist wouldn’t continue using his set for his anti-Israel rants following his outburst in New Jersey on Sept. 4, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The team owners, who had booked Sheeran for a night of entertainment at their own stadiums, warned the promoters that the tour would be barred from its scheduled dates if Macklemore didn’t clean up his act, as they didn’t want to host a political rally with hate speech, according to the outlet
Some of the owners named were New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft, Carolina Panthers’ David Tepper, the Atlanta Falcons’ Arthur Blank, and Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie.
In his first show at MetLife on Sept. 4, Macklemore, clad in a black-and-white keffiyeh, called for “free Palestine” as he focused on the war and for “every single human being” to have freedom.
“To know safety and peace before they know the sound of violence. To know the sound of laughter on a playground before planes and bombs. For parents to be able to say bye to their parents in the morning and not have to wonder if this is going to be the last time that they kiss their child goodbye,” he said. So I say Free Palestine. I say Free Lebanon, I say Free Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, free all people in America living in fear over this terrorist organization ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.”
When he took the stage the next night, the rapper victimized the woke Ivy League students who had besieged their Manhattan campus for two weeks in the Spring of 2024.
“Free Palestine. I want those words to be clear so that people from Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them. This next song was inspired by the bravery of the Columbia University students, who led an encampment movement that mobilized the entire world, opening up hearts — myself included,” he said.
The 43-year-old, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, also performed his track “Hind’s Hall,” a reference to the pro-Palestine protests at the Columbia University campus, as images from Gaza were displayed on the screen behind him.
“I wanted to stand up here on stages across America and say two words that are near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” the Grammy-winning rapper said as he wore a keffiyeh draped over his shoulders.
The owners allegedly hounded Messina Touring Group, which is promoting the US leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, to pull Macklemore from the remainder of the shows or face Sheeran’s concerts being canceled, the outlet reported.
Some of the owners named were Carolina Panthers’ David Tepper, the Atlanta Falcons’ Arthur Blank, and Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie.
Other venues that threatened to cancel shows were Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Rolling Stone magazine previously reported.
Macklemore was ousted from the tour on Monday.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft led the calls for removing the rapper, talking to Sheeran, with whom he shares a personal relationship.
The 85-year-old told the English pop star during a 40-minute phone call that he wouldn’t host Macklemore at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., the Wall Street Journal reported.
Kraft told the singer that Macklemore’s rhetoric was hate speech and not freedom of speech and didn’t discuss the main issue with the conflict in the Middle East – Hamas.
The US-designated Iranian-backed terrorist group has governed Gaza since 2007 and launched the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed over 1,200 people, with hundreds of others taken hostage in the Gaza Strip.
“This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real,” Kraft said in a statement.
“But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, a United States and globally … designated terrorist organization whose horrific actions have caused immeasurable suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
All other openers for Sheeran; Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga; dropped themselves from the tour in solidarity with the problematic rapper.
Sheeran, who has kept quiet about his personal beliefs, supported Macklemore, pinning the blame on the promoters and stadium owners and not himself.
“Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me,” he wrote on Instagram Tuesday.
“I was also involved in direct talks with promoters along with activists on both sides to try and find a mutual resolution for all, but the venue’s and promoter’s decision was final,” Sheeran wrote.
“I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living,” he said.
Kraft has since extended an olive branch, saying he would “welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore.”
The rapper had accused the billionaire of being the reason he was booted from the tour.
Kraft announced he would donate $2 million to Palestinian relief efforts alongside Sheeran’s own Both follow Macklemore’s announcement to give $1 million of his tour earnings.
Sheeran is still scheduled to perform at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday before journeying up to Gillette Stadium for two nights on Sept. 25 and 26.
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