aaron rowe says Ed Sheeran dropped Macklemore from the tour after venues said they would pull the shows if the rapper stayed on the bill. The split followed Macklemore’s repeated Free Palestine chants at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Sheeran put the decision on the promoter, but Macklemore says Robert Kraft pushed the ultimatum.
MetLife Stadium and the split
Last Monday, Macklemore said Ed Sheeran told him that Robert Kraft called and that he “would not be allowed to perform” in Gillette Stadium on Sept. 25-26. He also said Sheeran told him, “If Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be able to play in our venues.”
Tuesday in a statement posted to Instagram, Sheeran said the move was “the promoter’s decision, not mine.” He added, “I spoke with the venues at length all week to try and build a bridge,” and said, “One of those people was Robert Kraft.” His final line on the matter was blunt: “but the venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.”
Robert Kraft and the ultimatum
Macklemore’s version is more direct. He said Sheeran told him Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and that they collectively gave him an ultimatum. That account turns a tour lineup dispute into a venue-access problem, with the leverage coming from the people who control the buildings, not from the artist whose name was on the bill.
Kraft’s response tied the move to his long-running focus on antisemitism and hate of all kinds. “Much of my time and attention for the last decade has been focused on the fight against antisemitism and hate of all kinds, and I feel a responsibility to stand up when I believe that line has been crossed,” he said, adding that “advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas.”
Gillette Stadium on Sept. 25-26
Kraft also said the decision at Gillette was made because of Macklemore’s recent actions and material shared from the stage during Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey. He said the stadium is committed to making sure events do not provide a platform for hate speech, and he added, “This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf.”
That leaves a narrow but important practical result for the tour: Macklemore is off the route, and the Sept. 25-26 Gillette dates are no longer a place where he can appear. The source does not name the promoter or identify every stadium owner involved, but it does show how quickly one onstage political statement can become a contract-and-venue issue across a U.S. run.
