Making his stance known.
Zach Bryan is in Foxborough this weekend for two sold out shows at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. And tonight, he took the stage with a clear message for Patriots owner Robert Kraft after the controversy surrounding Macklemore and his recent comments while on tour with Ed Sheeran.
The controversy started earlier this month when Macklemore was opening for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and used his performance to deliver his thoughts on the war between Israel and Palestine:
“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine.’
I said, ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”
The entire rant lasted nearly three minutes, and also featured Macklemore expressing his support for Iran and calling ICE a “terrorist organization.” But it was his comments on Palestine that drew the most attention, including from his fellow artists.
Joe Bonamassa took issue with the fact that Macklemore used his spot as an opener to make the show political:
And Pink, who is herself Jewish, also chimed in, calling Hamas a terrorist organization:
Macklemore was scheduled to open for Sheeran on 8 of the 10 shows left on the U.S. leg of the tour, but it was announced yesterday that he had been kicked off the remaining dates. And in a rant posted to his Instagram, the “Thrift Shop” rapper blamed Patriots owner Bob Kraft for his ouster:
“Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had 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.”
He said that he considers Ed Sheeran a brother, but that “our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.”
Kraft later released a statement citing Macklemore’s comments during the MetLife shows, as well as his prior history of dressing up in an offensive stereotypical Jewish costume, as his reason for not allowing the rapper to appear at Gillette Stadium:
“Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.”
Well pretty soon the rest of the opening acts on Sheeran’s tour also dropped out, while Macklemore announced his own “Free Palestine” tour.
And now, Zach Bryan has inserted himself into the controversy.
During tonight’s show, the first of two at Gillette Stadium, the “Something In the Orange” singer took the stage wearing a “Free Palestine” shirt, as did some of his band members:
With another show at the stadium tomorrow, you gotta wonder whether Kraft is gonna pull the plug on that one too…
