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The Ed Sheeran Controversy

In a society that claims to promote free speech, what crosses the line from controversial to unacceptable? Who gets to define where the line begins and ends?

Like his friend Donald Trump, billionaire Robert Kraft is a bully who thinks his money entitles him to get what he wants. Because he owns the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, this includes deciding who can and can’t perform at the venue. Typically, these decisions are based on which acts will attract the biggest crowds and demand the highest ticket prices.

But the current controversy is also about the political views of both owners and artists. Kraft told British singer Ed Sheeran, whose latest global tour includes concerts at Gillette Stadium outside Boston scheduled for September 25 and 26, that he had to drop Macklemore as an opening act because he opposed the rapper’s statements about Israel.

What triggered the dispute was Macklemore’s two-minute speech during a September 4 concert at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. He said he wanted the people of Gaza and “the occupied West Bank” to know “we have not forgotten about them. I say free Palestine.” He also said, “To all my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you.”

During the tour, he’s performed his song “Hind’s Hall,” about pro-Palestinian activists who occupied and renamed a Columbia University building “Hind’s Hall” to honor Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Columbia is Kraft’s alma mater.

Macklemore’s remarks led Kraft to remove him from Sheeran’s Gillette Stadium concerts and to pressure other venue and NFL team owners to do likewise. The venues include Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Indianapolis’s Lucas Oil Stadium, Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Along with Kraft’s Gillette Stadium, these mega-venues read like a who’s who of corporate America.

Sheeran tried to get the concert promoters to change their stance. When that failed, his supporting acts—Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and Beoga (Sheeran’s longtime backup band)—withdrew from the US tour in solidarity with Macklemore and in support of Palestinians’ rights.

“Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation,” said Graham. “Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”

“This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf,” Kraft said. “But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas”—although Macklemore has never embraced the terrorist group.

Sheeran explained that canceling Macklemore “was the promoters’ decision; it was not mine.” He also noted that he had a moral obligation to the people who depend on his concerts to earn a living.

Sheeran could likely afford to pay his fellow artists and his staff if the tour were canceled. His net worth is $547 million, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, based on his record-breaking tours, music catalog and royalties, and large portfolio of property, including a sprawling Suffolk country estate and over 30 London properties. He is also a part-owner of the Premier League football club Ipswich Town FC.

Kraft, who is worth $15.2 billion, made his fortune by marrying into a wealthy family. In 1968, he took over his father-in-law’s Worcester-based paper and packaging business, expanded it, and added a Boston TV station and real estate investments to his portfolio. In 1994, he purchased the Patriots, and in 2002 built the new stadium.

Kraft has mostly donated to Democrats and has had an on-and-off friendship with Trump. After the 2016 election, he contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. That year, Kraft was privately critical of Trump’s attacks on........

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