Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy defended New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft over a decision to remove rapper Macklemore from Ed Sheeran’s tour after Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian comments.
“I back Robert Kraft banning Macklemore from performing at Gillette 1000% and thank him for having a spine when many others in his shoes don’t,” Portnoy said on X Wednesday.
The Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where Macklemore and Sheeran were slated to perform later this month.
The controversy came from a promoter’s decision to remove rapper Macklemore from Sheeran’s tour. Macklemore was dropped from the remaining U.S. dates of Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour after saying “free Palestine” onstage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
All remaining opening acts, Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, Beoga, and the touring band, have pulled themselves from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
During a Sept. 4 speech, Macklemore said he wanted people in Gaza and the “occupied West Bank” to know they had not been forgotten. His remarks prompted backlash and a petition from the Israeli American Council calling for his removal from the tour.
“I didn’t pay to hear Macklemore give me a political speech, I paid to hear Ed Sheeran sing,” Portnoy said in a video he posted on social media.
Macklemore posted a lengthy statement on Instagram about his removal from the tour.
“Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft 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,” Macklemore said on Instagram Monday.
Sheeran responded to the backlash on Tuesday.
“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision; it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me,” Sheeran said in a statement on Instagram Tuesday.
“I spoke with the venues at length all week to try and build a bridge. One of those people was Robert Kraft,” Sheeran said. “I was also involved in direct talks with promoters along with activists on both sides to try and find a mutual resolution for all, but the venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.”
ED SHEERAN RESPONDS TO BACKLASH OVER MACKLEMORE REMOVAL: ‘I AM NOT COMPLICIT’
Sheeran emphasized the “suffering and pain caused on both sides,” but maintained he is not implicated.
Portnoy highlighted Macklemore’s “shady past,” including backlash from a performance in 2014 where he took the stage wearing a bushy black beard, a dark wig, and a fake nose.
Pro-Israel groups said the costume resembled anti-Jewish caricatures. Macklemore said the resemblance was a coincidence.
“A fake witches nose, wig, and beard = random costume. Not my idea of a stereotype of anybody,” Macklemore said on Twitter.
Portnoy also pointed out that Macklemore was “yucking up with Hasan Piker.”
In a post from his authorized account dated Sept. 18, 2009, Macklemore said: “911… bush knocked down the towers.”
The post no longer seems to exist.
In the screenshot Portnoy showed, left-wing streamer Hasan Piker commented on the post, saying “true.”
Piker is known as a prominent left-wing streamer who has sparked controversy over antisemitic comments he’s made.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) addressed concerns about Piker’s comments on the streaming platform Twitch in a letter to Congress on Oct. 29, 2024.
The letter says, “Mr. Piker has demonized Orthodox Jews as ‘inbred.’”
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy addressed the comments and condemned antisemitism on the platform.
Portnoy highlighted Kraft’s efforts to combat antisemitism and hate, including at Gillette Stadium, where an antisemitism “command center” shows guests in real time, conversations and updates related to antisemitism.
“You’re going to come into Bob Kraft’s house, and spit in his face? No f***ing way, that’s not censorship,” Portnoy said.
“This ain’t freedom of speech, homey. He owns the stadium, it’s his house.”
After being kicked off the tour, Macklemore pledged to take the next $1 million of his earnings from Sheeran’s tour to organizations supporting Palestinians.
Gillette Stadium issued a statement in response to Macklemore’s post.
JOE CONCHA CALLS MACKLEMORE AN ANTISEMITE FOR PRO-PALESTINIAN REMARKS DURING ED SHEERAN TOUR
“Earlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis. Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges,” the post on Instagram said.
Kraft continued, “In addition, I’d like the people who are speaking in support of the Palestinian people to know that for decades, I have supported efforts that create opportunity for Palestinians and have brought young Palestinians and Israelis together to build businesses, create jobs, and forge relationships.”