This morning it was Macklemore's word. By lunch it was Robert Kraft's too.
## What Kraft said TMZ (@TMZ) got it first at 12:32 PT, and GBH News and the Boston Globe ran the full statement within the hour. The Patriots owner confirms he did not want Macklemore on the Gillette Stadium stage September 25 and 26, and he doesn't dispute the rest of what Macklemore posted this morning: the call to Ed Sheeran, the ultimatum, the other owners. Per the Globe, Kraft "did not dispute Macklemore's assertions." That's the sentence we were waiting on when we wrote this morning's piece and flagged the Kraft account as one man's claim. It isn't anymore.
His stated reason is "hate speech." From the statement: "Based on Macklemore's recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran's shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery ... we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line." The "broader history" line, per both Boston outlets, points at the 2014 costume Macklemore wore on stage in Seattle, which he apologized for at the time.

He also says this isn't about Palestinians: "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." Then the pivot, which is the actual argument: advocacy "should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas." He says he's put money into Palestine over decades, that fighting antisemitism has been his focus for ten years, and that he'd "welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts."
Sheeran's camp still hasn't said a word. The Globe asked; no response.
## What he didn't say Read it twice. Kraft explains Gillette. He does not explain Philly, Atlanta, Indy, Charlotte, Arlington or Tampa. Macklemore's claim was that Kraft "rallied some of the other stadium owners" into a collective no, and the promoter's own statement says "venues," plural, refused. Kraft's statement neither confirms nor denies the phone tree. So the part that turns one owner's house rule into a seven-stadium blacklist is still Macklemore's account, and now it's an account Kraft chose not to correct when he had the microphone.

## The tape Macklemore also posted the MetLife clip today so people could judge the "material shared from the stage" themselves. Per the Globe, the line was: "I said free Palestine. I want those words to be loud and clear, so the people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them." Then the flag on the screens, then the song. The caveat he gave the same night, per GBH, was addressed to "my Jewish brothers and sisters": criticism of Israel "in no way is a criticism of you."
## Why this matters past Macklemore This is now a documented case of an NFL owner deciding who performs at a concert he's hosting, based on what the performer said on someone else's stage in another state. Kraft co-founded REFORM Alliance with Meek Mill and Jay-Z. He's the owner most wired into hip-hop's business class, and he just showed the terms in writing. The same week Colin Kaepernick is on podcasts calling Jay-Z's Yankee Stadium freestyle a "guilty conscience," we got a clean look at what the stadium relationship costs when an artist says something the landlord won't host. The Source filed it under Politics. That's the right shelf.
Both men say they want the same thing. Kraft says peace and an end to hate. Macklemore says the victims are Palestinians. The gap between those two sentences is now the rest of the U.S. Loop Tour, which plays seven NFL buildings without him starting Philly.
## Sources - TMZ, Sept. 14, 2026 (12:32 PT, exclusive) — Patriots owner Robert Kraft responds to Macklemore after collusion claims: https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/14/robert-kraft-responds-to-macklemore-ed-sheeran-tour-claims/ - GBH News, Sept. 14, 2026 — Bob Kraft explains decision to urge ouster of rapper Macklemore from Ed Sheeran tour (full statement): https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2026-09-14/bob-kraft-explains-decision-to-urge-ouster-of-rapper-macklemore-from-ed-sheeran-tour - Boston Globe, Sept. 14, 2026 — Rapper Macklemore says Kraft barred him from playing Gillette over pro-Palestinian statements: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/14/metro/macklemore-ed-sheeran-robert-kraft-gillette/ - Variety, Sept. 14, 2026 — Robert Kraft defends banning Macklemore from Ed Sheeran tour: https://variety.com/2026/music/news/robert-kraft-macklemore-ed-sheeran-tour-palestine-1236861621/ - Billboard, Sept. 14, 2026 — Robert Kraft calls Macklemore 'Free Palestine' statements 'offensive': https://www.billboard.com/pro/robert-kraft-macklemore-free-palestine-statements-offensive/ - The Source, Sept. 14, 2026 — Macklemore says Robert Kraft led stadium revolt removing him from Ed Sheeran tour: https://thesource.com/2026/09/14/macklemore-says-robert-kraft-led-stadium-revolt-removing-him-from-ed-sheeran-tour/ - Rolling Stone, Sept. 14, 2026 — Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour (promoter statement): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/macklemore-dropped-ed-sheeran-tour-pro-palestine-statements-1235625967/ - Macklemore on Instagram, Sept. 14, 2026 — full statement: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRdsy0m2HK/ - BBC Newsbeat, May 2014 — Macklemore apologizes for costume: https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-27483970

