Robert Kraft says the line was crossed at MetLife Stadium, and the consequence reached all the way to Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots owner confirmed he banned Macklemore from performing at Gillette after the rapper’s comments during the tour’s Sept. 4 stop at MetLife Stadium, saying the decision was tied to remarks he viewed as unacceptable and to a broader pattern he believes went beyond a single night. Read together, Kraft’s reported action and his public explanation make the standard he says he applied unusually clear: he would not give his venue to what he called hate speech.
Kraft said the stadium “will not provide a platform for hate speech” and removed Macklemore from the tour. He also said the decision was not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf.
That distinction matters to Kraft’s explanation. He said support for Palestinians should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure Hamas, which he identified as a terrorist organization. He also said Macklemore’s participation would cross the line because of the rapper’s recent actions and what Kraft described as a history of antisemitic rhetoric that has been offensive to the Jewish community.
Macklemore was scheduled to open for Ed Sheeran at multiple stadiums, including Gillette on Sept. 25-26. Instead, the tour was shut down after venues would not allow a concert with Macklemore on the lineup.
Macklemore said Sheeran told him Kraft would not allow him to perform at Gillette and that Kraft pushed other stadium owners to make the same decision. The promoter, Messina Touring Group, later confirmed that venues would not allow the concert to go forward with Macklemore on the bill, which led to the cancellation of the tour.
Kraft also tried to place his stance in a broader context. He said he has directed resources to Palestine and created opportunities for Palestinians while standing against Hamas and antisemitism. He expressed respect for Sheeran and said he would welcome a future conversation with Macklemore.
The result is a rare off-field decision from an NFL owner that was not framed as a simple booking change. Kraft tied the reported ban to a stated boundary about what his stadium would and would not host, and he linked that boundary to comments he says went beyond political advocacy.