NFL team owners were reportedly told that Macklemore would not bring up Palestine during the second night of Ed Sheeran's tour stop at MetLife Stadium, but the rapper went ahead with the messaging anyway, according to a report published Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal.
Citing sources, the Journal reported that multiple NFL owners raised objections after the first night of the New Jersey shows, upset by Macklemore's pro-Palestinian statements. Those owners were allegedly given assurances that every reference to Palestine would be stripped from his second-night set. The report does not say who made that commitment.
The Journal identified the owners of the Carolina Panthers, the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles as among those displeased with Macklemore and prepared to pull Sheeran's shows if he stayed on the bill.
Macklemore subsequently pointed at New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, saying Kraft drew a line in the sand and pushed to have him taken off the tour. Kraft has in the past set up a control room at Gillette Stadium dedicated to tracking hate speech, with a particular focus on antisemitism.
After being removed from the lineup, Macklemore said he would give away the full $1 million in net earnings he had earned from Sheeran's "Loop" Tour, splitting the money among six organizations that support Palestinians, and he publicly challenged Kraft to match the gift.
Kraft responded by doubling that figure, committing $2 million to assist people in the region.
The MetLife Stadium shows sit at the center of the dispute, which now involves one of the NFL's most prominent owners and a touring artist whose political statements became a condition of his participation. The Journal's account leaves unresolved the question of who promised the owners that the second night would be free of Palestine references.