Robert Kraft Confirms He Blocked Macklemore From Gillette Stadium Over Antisemitism Concerns Amid Ed Sheeran Tour Fallout
Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirmed to TMZ he blocked Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium during Ed Sheeran's tour, citing antisemitic rhetoric concerns.
Robert Kraft is no stranger to controlling the moment inside Gillette Stadium, but this week the Patriots owner found himself at the center of a national firestorm that has nothing to do with football. Kraft confirmed to TMZ on Sunday that he personally objected to Macklemore performing at Gillette Stadium during Ed Sheeran’s “Loop Tour 2026” stop on September 25-26, after the rapper’s pro-Palestine remarks at a MetLife Stadium show went viral. The confirmation came hours after Macklemore accused Kraft of orchestrating a stadium-owner blacklist that got him pulled from the rest of Sheeran’s tour entirely.
Kraft, 85, has owned the Patriots since 1994 and built Gillette Stadium into one of the most active non-football venues in professional sports, hosting concerts, soccer matches and now, unexpectedly, a public reckoning over antisemitism and free speech. Massachusetts bettors following the Patriots through sportsbooks in Massachusetts know Gillette Stadium’s cultural footprint extends well past Sundays in the fall.
What Macklemore Says Happened
According to Macklemore, Sheeran told him that Kraft called directly to say the rapper “would not be allowed” to perform at Gillette Stadium, and that Kraft had rallied other NFL stadium owners into a collective ultimatum: drop Macklemore from the tour or lose access to their venues altogether. Macklemore wrote that Sheeran relayed concerns that the words “Free Palestine” and the imagery of Palestinian flags had been “hurtful” to people Kraft had spoken with. Reports also named Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, whose Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte was among the other venues that reportedly raised objections. Messina Touring Group, which promotes Sheeran’s U.S. dates, confirmed that multiple venues indicated they would not host a show with Macklemore on the bill, and the rapper has now been removed from the tour’s remaining stops, including Gillette.
The controversy traces back to Sheeran’s September 4 show at MetLife Stadium, home of the Jets and Giants, where Macklemore told the crowd he wanted to use stadium platforms to say “Free Palestine” and performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall,” which references pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University. The moment drew immediate backlash from pro-Israel groups, including a petition from the Israeli American Council calling for his removal from the tour.
Kraft’s Response and the Antisemitism Fight
Kraft didn’t dodge the story. In his statement to TMZ, he said 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.” He went further, citing “material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery” that he said “crossed the line” for the September 25-26 concerts.
Kraft, who is Jewish, was careful to separate the decision from the underlying humanitarian issue. “This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf,” he said, adding that “their pain and loss are real” while arguing that advocacy “should not come at the expense of the Jewish community.” He also said he has personally directed resources toward Palestinian communities over the years and would welcome a direct sit-down with Macklemore. The episode arrives just days after Kraft donated $10 million to Brandeis University to launch the Robert K. Kraft Family Center for Jewish Life and Leadership, underscoring a philanthropic focus he says has defined “much of my time and attention for the last decade.”
Why It Matters Beyond the Music Business
For an NFL audience, the bigger story is what this reveals about the power owners like Kraft wield simply by controlling the buildings. Patriots fans have watched Kraft use Gillette Stadium’s calendar for everything from Revolution soccer to Taylor Swift, and this dispute is a reminder that those bookings come with editorial control most people never see exercised publicly. Sheeran still has stops remaining at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta before the year is out, and how those venues handle any similar pressure will be watched closely given how quickly this story escalated.
With NFL Sunday approaching and betting markets around the league heating up as always, fans checking DraftKings Promo Code offers for this week’s slate will find the conversation around Kraft dominating football media cycles well outside the box score. Whether or not Macklemore and Kraft ever have the sit-down Kraft says he’d welcome, the fallout has already reframed how fans view the business side of stadium ownership — and reinforced that Kraft, at 85, remains one of the most influential figures in sports well beyond the Patriots’ win-loss record.