Rapper Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran's stadium tour after making Free Palestine comments during performances.n. The Washington Post headlined it "Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour after pro-Palestine comments".
Sheeran said the decision to take Macklemore off the tour was not his own. ""Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter's decision, it was not mine," Sheeran said on Instagram."1, BBC News said.
Reporting has pointed to Robert Kraft, tied to the stadium venues involved, as central to that decision. The Nation reported: "Bob Kraft is the person primarily responsible, as he readily admits, for compelling international music superstar Ed Sheeran to drop his opening act, hip-hop artist Macklemore, from his stadium tour."2
Kraft said Macklemore had spread division and hate. Breitbart headlined it "New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Says Rapper Macklemore Spread 'Division and Hate' at Ed Sheeran Stadium Tour".
He also pointed to a longstanding commitment at Gillette Stadium against providing a platform for hate speech. ""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 in a statement."3, The Daily Wire said.
One report said NFL owners had allegedly been assured Macklemore would not repeat the comments before he did so again at a second show at MetLife Stadium. New York Post headlined it "Macklemore called for ‘Free Palestine’ at second MetLife Stadium show after NFL owners were allegedly assured he wouldn’t: report".
Following Macklemore's removal, all of the other support acts on the tour quit in solidarity with him. BBC News headlined it "All support acts on Ed Sheeran's US tour quit after Macklemore dropped".
The Nation wrote: "Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, friend of Donald Trump, and proud mega-donor to AIPAC, just showed us once again how raw oligarchical power can crush any pretense that our speech is protected by the First Amendment."2
"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"4, New York Post reported.
