Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, stated that Ed Sheeran requested he donate $2 million to humanitarian aid in the region during the ongoing dispute surrounding rapper Macklemore. The comment appeared in Kraft’s second official statement regarding the incident, though he did not specify the exact destinations for the funds.
The controversy began when Kraft announced on Monday that Macklemore had been removed as the opening act for Sheeran’s upcoming Loop Tour at Gillette Stadium near Boston. Kraft accused the rapper of hate speech and antisemitic rhetoric, allegations that Macklemore denies. In response to the backlash, Sheeran stated that the decision was made by tour promoters and declined to engage in a public debate over the situation in Gaza.
On Wednesday, Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, announced he would donate $1 million from his tour earnings to six Palestinian organizations. He challenged Kraft to match the donation. Later that day, Kraft revealed that Sheeran had called him prior to Macklemore’s challenge and asked him to commit $2 million to aid efforts.
“Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges,” Kraft said in the statement issued on behalf of Gillette Stadium. The stadium owner also emphasized his long-standing support for initiatives that create opportunities for Palestinians and his efforts to foster business and social relationships between young Palestinians and Israelis.
Kraft, who is Jewish, maintained that his venue would not provide a platform for hate speech. He criticized Macklemore for sharing “selective information” while ignoring the actions of Hamas. Meanwhile, all other supporting acts on Sheeran’s US tour—including Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and Beoga—have quit in solidarity with Macklemore, citing concerns about the chilling effect on free speech.
Macklemore expressed that his donation was intended to shift the focus back to the Palestinian people, describing the situation as a “manmade injustice” requiring immediate political change.
Macklemore challenging Kraft to match the donation is bold. I want to see if Kraft actually follows through.
Wait, did all the other openers quit too? That seems like a massive solidarity move.
Two million dollars? That is a lot of pressure on Kraft. Does Sheeran actually care about Gaza?
This is getting so complicated. Why is the concert business model allowing these politics in?