The call to “Free Palestine” is a statement against Israel’s decades-long occupation and blockade of Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. In 2026, it’s a denouncement of an active genocide. To New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, it’s akin to antisemitism. At Kraft’s behest, Ed Sheeran dropped Macklemore from his Loop Tour after the Seattle rapper advocated for Palestine during his opening set at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. “To all my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you,” he said, adding, “my message is for peace.”

On September 14, he revealed Epstein Lister Kraft had colluded with other NFL owners to cancel the tour’s remaining American dates if he was on the bill. Days later, the Wall Street Journal reported that Kraft told Sheeran that NFL owners Jeffrey Lurie (Philadelphia Eagles), David Tepper (Carolina Panthers), and Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons) were in on the collusion. They didn’t reply to the report.

Kraft released a statement claiming that his decision “is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf.” He thinks Macklemore’s comments diminish Hamas’ role in the violence that’s taken place since their October 7, 2023 attack on an Israeli music festival. “That advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, a United States and globally (including Canada, European Union, United Kingdom, and Japan) designated terrorist organization,” the statement read.

Macklemore has said that he’s donating his $1 million in tour earnings to Palestinian relief efforts, which YouTube star Ms. Rachel plans to match. Kraft accepted Macklemore’s request to match, offering $2 million in donations to “aid in the region”—which could just mean Israel. Kraft’s impending donation couldn’t stop the outrage toward him and his colluders. Social media discourse rankled Kraft about his relentless Zionism, ties to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his 2019 prostitution charges. They lambasted Sheeran’s cowardice, his weak “I’m not political” statement, and his being a client of the Wasserman agency, whose rounder Casey Wasserman told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in December 2025 that his leadership makes him “proud to be Jewish.”

Sheeran’s other supporting acts, Aaron Rowe, Beoga, Finneas, and Danish band Lukas Graham, withdrew from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. The Guitar Center contest he’s holding for his Mexico City opener has been overloaded with an influx of “entrants” uploading pro-Palestine videos. His ticket prices are plummeting, and his music was removed from Irish station Classic Hits Radio. Fans disappointed by Macklemore’s ban are receiving refunds. Kesha unfollowed him on Instagram, and Roger Waters called him a “little prick” for not standing with Macklemore, who Sheeran has been friends with for a decade. Meanwhile, Macklemore has seen a groundswell of support. “Can’t Hold Us” with Ryan Lewis jumped 38 spots on Spotify’s Global Chart. Dearborn, Michigan Mayor Abdullah Hammoud lauded him and invited him to perform in the city.

The series of post-removal events feels like a best-case scenario against wealthy Zionists who’ve been punishing both entertainers and everyday citizens for calling out Israel’s homicidal conduct. Sheeran is learning that “I don’t do politics” equates to “I stand with evil.” Kraft is learning that his shadowy collusion has consequences when his targets go public. And the Palestinians are reassured that Macklemore, and millions of other Americans, stand with them. Yesterday, Al Jazeera Plus uploaded a video of Palestinian kids in Gaza, some of them with amputated limbs, thanking Macklemore. This week, we saw corporate organizations vs. social organization, and the people fared well.

It’s no surprise that NFL owners are colluding against Macklemore. The league paints “end racism” on their end zones, but repeatedly penalizes players for their personal political messaging. This week, the league fined Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair $11,491 for memorializing Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in 2024 by IDF forces, on his eye black. Basketball star Kyrie Irving offered to pay the fine. Last year, the devout Muslim was fined $11,593 for writing “stop the genocide” on his face paint. Years ago, the league partnered with Jay-Z to avert an exodus of Black fans after blackballing Colin Kaepernick for kneeling during the National Anthem; he and former teammate Eric Reid settled a collusion suit with the league in 2019. The NFL is a power circle of wealthy owners who unabashedly reinforce colonial interests and penalize dissent. And with Israel and Palestine specifically, league brass is clear on where they stand.

Shortly after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, the league issued a statement condemning the violence, noting, “The NFL mourns the loss of innocent lives in Israel and strongly condemns all forms of terrorism.” They had moments of silence at each game the following week; they’ve issued no further statements or recognition of the reported 73,000+ Gazans who’ve since been killed in Israel’s relentless, American-funded military operation. Over a dozen NFL teams issued individual statements condemning Hamas, including four of the teams playing in stadiums that banned Macklemore: the Panthers, Falcons, Eagles, and Patriots.

In colluding with Tepper, Blank, and Lurie against Macklemore, Kraft found three other wealthy magnates who are also staunch supporters of Jewish and Israeli causes.

A month after October 7, Panthers owner Tepper’s eponymous foundation launched a security fund that has donated $23.1 million for security at Jewish spaces, such as synagogues and campuses. So far, he’s donated $17.75 million to the Jewish Federations of North America to aid their security efforts. The JFNA is “proudly and unapologetically Zionist,” according to its associate vice president for external communications, Niv Elis. The federation even fired a consultant for deterring its younger cohort from using the word “Zionism.” This May, TIME recognized Tepper as one of its 100 philanthropists of the year. In the piece, he discussed a gunfight between Ayman Mohamad Ghazali and security guards at West Bloomfield, Michigan’s Temple Israel Synagogue, funded by Tepper’s donations. Ghazali died by suicide after a would-be attack. “That one made me cry,” he told the outlet, adding, “We saved kids’ lives.” But what about the young lives in Gaza?

The Atlanta Falcons’ October 7 statement expressed grief “for the innocent Israeli and Palestinian souls who have lost their lives.” In 2016, their owner Arthur Blank donated $75,000 to Jewish Agency for Israel’s North American Council, an organization that recognizes “Advancing Aliyah (Israeli people returning to Israel) as a core value.” In response to October 7, he donated $750,000 to three medical organizations in Israel—but nothing to Palestine, despite publicly grieving their losses.

In 2020, Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie executive produced The Meaning of Hitler documentary, an adaptation of the 1978 book that explored people’s twisted fascination with the Nazi dictator. Shortly before the doc's release, he chastised then-Eagle Desean Jackson for praising Louis Farrakhan on social media and putting multiple quotes attributed to Hitler in his Instagram story: “white Jews” are “(blackmailing) America…(They) will extort America,” and “their plan for world domination won’t work if the Negroes know who they were.”

All four owners are Jewish and passionate about their heritage. They’re justified in debunking baseless conspiracy theories. There’s nothing wrong with Tepper wanting to defend his people from hate crimes, or Blank wanting to aid people. But they’ve shown comparatively minimal support to their neighbors in Palestine. Kraft’s statement called for “peace, love, for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.” Words are one thing. But his actions, like theirs, demonstrate that they’re only focused on an abundance of positivity and opportunity for Israelis, not Palestinians.

Kraft is deceptively conflating Macklemore’s condemnation of Zionism with antisemitism, knowing the social consequences of that term. The stance feels like a defense mechanism to evade complicity in another’s oppression, akin to white supremacists surmising that pro-Black movements calling out systemic racism are “anti-white.” As the world’s staunchest pro-Palestine advocates—many of whom are also Jewish—call for everyone to divest from Israel, these men have continuously helped maintain the state’s economy and public reputation in various ways. And now they’ve consolidated their power to bully Sheeran into punishing Macklemore for holding Israel to account.

While awarding Kraft the 2019 Genesis Prize, the “Israeli Nobel Prize,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Israel does not have a more loyal friend than Robert Kraft.” In 2022, Kraft donated to AIPAC’s Super PAC, and in 2021 donated $25,000 to Shontel Brown’s campaign to defeat pro-Palestine candidate Nina Turner in Ohio’s Democratic U.S. House Primary—Brown won the race. He’s organized three “Touchdown in Israel” trips, where he brought NFL players and Hall of Famers to the country to be "ambassadors for the state of Israel who would talk about what a great country it is," as he said in 2017. Kraft maintains an antisemitism “command center” at Gillette Stadium, with wall-sized screens tracking any X posts that reference Judaism. The center is a part of the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, which he formed in 2019. It’s currently unproven whether Kraft pays for bots to harass social media users, as Israel does. But the tracking operation reveals that Kraft knows how information warfare shapes public sentiment—which is why he shuddered at Macklemore denouncing Israel’s genocide in packed stadiums.

Kraft can’t take the moral high ground in good faith, though. He was mentioned multiple times in the Epstein files, apparently close enough to the late sex trafficker that Epstein told lawyer Jack Goldberger that he was “trying to have” Kraft hire Goldberger as defense in his 2019 prostitution solicitation case. Epstein also ominously told Goldberger, “You need to know about a past issue with Kraft that may come to light.” Kraft faced two charges of soliciting prostitution after being caught performing sexual acts in a Florida Spa where the sex workers were confined to the establishment, slept on the massage tables, and were “forced to service eight to 15 men a day.” Kraft was patronizing the same kind of sex slave operation that made Epstein one of the most reviled figures in modern history. The powerful connections that got Kraft a cushy $10,000 fine and 100 hours of community service in exchange for dropped charges are the same ties he used to collude against Macklemore, demonstrating the violence of power. Kraft is the last person who should be drawing attention to anyone’s alleged misdeeds.

And this ban clearly has nothing to do with antisemitism. Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) has been performing at American stadiums all summer, a year after making a song called “Heil Hitler,” the nadir of a years-long assault on Jewish people which included incendiary tweets, an iced out swastika chain, and dinner with Donald Trump and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. Kanye’s since apologized, attributing his actions to his battle with bipolar disorder. He’s been on a redemption tour, performing at several American stadiums while on his best behavior. In July, he played two shows at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium, which is one of the remaining American dates on Sheeran’s tour. Alan Clendenin of the Tampa Bay Sports Authority, who operates Raymond James, told local channel Tampa Bay 10 that they didn’t request Macklemore’s removal from the bill. Clendenin noted “the TSA (free speech) policy is consistent with the same policy we use for [Ye.]” They apparently wouldn’t have had an issue with Macklemore speaking up. Kraft hasn’t said anything about Ye, a much more popular artist than Macklemore, headlining shows all year. Kraft’s punishment of Macklemore isn’t about antisemitism, but about stifling criticism of Israel.

As commentator Hasan Piker noted in a viral MS NOW clip, structural violence works silently; citizens excuse the brutality of politicians and police forces and militaries because it’s done under the guise of serving the public. The state narrative is then reinforced by wealthy businesspeople and their benefactees: nonprofits, entertainers, media outlets, and bots who spew “both sides” and “complicated” propaganda. Or, like Pink, they share content labeling people “anti-Israel” for calling out the state’s violence.

Kraft’s statement accused Macklemore of “only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas.” He’s projecting. Israel and emissaries like Kraft have been deviously selective in pretending that their Gazan assault is a war on Hamas alone, when they’ve slaughtered tens of thousands of Palestinians who have no food or shelter, let alone weapons. What “war” is happening? Activists seeking to bring them aid in flotillas are being intercepted, detained, and tortured. All the while, the Trump administration is vying to confine the living Palestinians into compounds that they wouldn’t be able to leave, while spackling the rest of the Gaza Strip with luxury apartments and data centers. Nothing “complicated” is happening here. It’s modern day colonialism, and it’s becoming increasingly cowardly to deny or ignore it. Hillary Clinton recently suggested on MS NOW that Netanyahu may have wanted October 7 to happen to commence this operation, a whack at the Israeli regime that seemed unthinkable on national TV several years ago. Kraft and his ilk can’t control her, but he can flex his weighty connections to deter entertainers from stating the obvious.

It’s worked in many cases. The people who speak up for Palestine are so lauded because it’s rare in the music industry. Sheeran cowered to Kraft’s pressure. Beyoncé said nothing about Israelis appropriating “Break My Soul” as a hasbara anthem. Kendrick Lamar was mute about Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu being arrested for waving a flag stating “Sudan and Free Gaza" during his Super Bowl LIX halftime performance. Despite public criticism from Drake and comedian Mohammed Amer, Palestinian-American DJ Khaled has yet to speak up about what’s happening to his people. Too many of your favorite stars are either apathetic or terrified of putting anything on the line; remember that the next time they feign anti-establishment themes in their music or visuals.

As Macklemore’s removal shows, speaking up about Palestine has risks. Kehlani has been open about receiving death threats and being removed from shows for her vocal Palestine advocacy. Punk-rap act Bob Vylan had their US Visa revoked after leading “free Palestine” and “death to the IDF” chants at the 2025 Glastonbury Music Festival. But they spoke up anyway.

In 2024, Dua Lipa denounced Israel’s genocide and asked the world to “show your solidarity with Gaza.” Drake signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire, and recently rapped “Pray for Gaza” in a new song, while Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas wore #Artists4Ceasefire pins at the 2024 Oscars. Over 1,000 artists and labels, including Lorde, Clairo, Geese and 10k Global, are participating in the No Music For Genocide movement, geo-blocking their music from Israel on DSPs. The Weeknd has helped raise over $2 million for the World Food Programme’s efforts in Gaza. There’s precedent for artists to vocally and financially aid Palestine. At this point, anyone with a platform who’s silent is content to stand on the wrong side of history.

As writer Toni Morrison said, “The history of art, whether it’s in music or written or what have you, has always been bloody, because dictators and people in office and people who want to control and deceive know exactly the people who will disturb their plans.” We may all be adapted to the modern music industry, where we expect artists to move like brand-conscious capitalists. But the record business is only a small footnote of music history. Art historically comes from worship, pain, and protest. Artists like Sinead O’Connor, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, and many more have been boycotted and targeted by the state for taking political stances in their music and performances; they never apologized or walked back their bravery. Macklemore is in their lineage. In his Metlife speech, he said that he came onto Sheeran’s tour specifically because he “wanted to stand on stadiums and stages across America and say two words… Free Palestine.” It’s disappointing how few of his fellow artists have joined the cause. But it’s also heartening to focus on his fellow openers, peers, and the many fans who advocated alongside him this week.

Top photo: Macklemore via Instagram