Macklemore says Robert Kraft, stadium owners fueled his ouster from Ed Sheeran’s tour over call to ‘free Palestine’

Rapper Macklemore said Monday that stadium owners, among them Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots, fueled his ouster from pop star Ed Sheeran’s ongoing tour following his pro-Palestinian advocacy.

In a post on Instagram, the Seattle rapper said that Sheeran “and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.”

Per The Hollywood Reporter , pro-Israel groups went after Macklemore earlier this month after he offered up a “free Palestine” message in an opening set for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 4. Pink, another key figure of the early 2010s pop scene, responded to Macklemore’s message and faced pushback for elevating an effort to get the rapper axed from the tour, according to the outlet.

“Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group,” Macklemore wrote in his Monday Instagram post.

“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 added.

Macklemore added later in his lengthy Instagram post that if the words “free Palestine” got him kicked off the stage, “while turning the conversation back to Palestine , than it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza , which began close to three years ago, has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, caused mass destruction of infrastructure in the territory and sparked a humanitarian crisis. A number of humanitarian and human rights groups have accused Israel of committing a “genocide” in the territory.

Macklemore has previously been accused of antisemitic actions. In spring 2014, the rapper issued an apology over a costume he wore while performing that critics labeled as antisemitic, according to the BBC .

The Hill has reached out to the Kraft Group, a representative for Sheeran and Messina Touring Group for comment.