Who is Robert Kraft, pro-Israel billionaire who cancelled Macklemore?

American billionaire Robert Kraft has confirmed that he pressured pop star Ed Sheeran to drop rapper Macklemore from his American tour.The billionaire is the owner of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, one of the venues Macklemore was due to appear on stage at as the opening act for Sheeran’s US tour in late September.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Macklemore defends ‘Free Palestine’ call after Ed Sheeran concert backlashlist 2 of 3Macklemore cut from Ed Sheeran tour for pro-Palestine stancelist 3 of 3Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour following Palestine advocacyend of listLetting Macklemore perform in Gillette Stadium would, for Kraft, cross a line, as he describes Macklemore’s recent performances as including a “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery”.Who is Robert Kraft?Robert Kraft is a Jewish American billionaire who also owns the American football team, the New England Patriots. He grew up in Massachusetts, in an observant, Orthodox Jewish household, and Forbes magazine estimates his wealth to be at more than $13bn.Kraft has donated to and funded a number of Jewish and Israeli causes, including the campaign “Stand Up to Jewish Hate” that he funded with more than $20m.His outspoken support for Israel led to him receiving the $1m Genesis Prize, an annual award known as the “Jewish Nobel Prize” for professional excellence and contributions to humanity and the Jewish community, in 2019. At the award ceremony, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Israel does not have a more loyal friend than Robert Kraft.”The billionaire has taken famous athletes such as American football star Tom Brady to visit an Israeli military base, where, according to an interview Kraft gave to The Times of Israel, Brady fired a gun and danced the hora, a lively dance in which participants link arms and form a circle.Kraft also made the news earlier this year when his name was mentioned in relation to the Epstein files. When Kraft was charged with soliciting prostitution in 2019, he appointed one of Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyers to his legal team. The charges were dropped in 2020.How did the Macklemore controversy start?Macklemore opened a Sheeran show at the New Jersey MetLife Stadium earlier this month with a speech about Palestine.He said: “The people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them. I say free Palestine. I say free Lebanon. Free Cuba to the Congo to Sudan to Iran.”The speech triggered an immediate backlash, and the Israeli-American Council started a petition to have Macklemore dropped from the tour.Macklemore defended his statements, and also his performance of the song Hind’s Hall – dedicated to Hind Rajab, the five-year-old girl killed by Israeli forces while stranded inside a car in Gaza – by stating that “wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial”.Hamilton Hall, one of the main buildings on the campus of Columbia University, was the site of a student protest in 2024 against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. The students occupied the hall and renamed it “Hind’s Hall”.How did Kraft get involved in the row?In an Instagram post, Macklemore said, “Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium.” He also claimed that Sheeran told him Kraft had rallied other stadium owners, who collectively issued an ultimatum: “If Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”Kraft’s public statement on the issue did not address the claim that the billionaire lobbied other stadium owners. He did say he is happy to sit down with Macklemore and talk in person.Kraft defended his involvement in preventing Macklemore from performing at his own stadium in a statement. He said, “This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf.”“But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas … whose horrific actions have caused immeasurable suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike.”Has Kraft got involved in protests before?Yes. He also took action during the student encampment movements across the United States in the spring of 2024, when protesters were demanding an end to Israel’s war on Gaza and for their universities to divest from companies linked to it.Kraft suspended his financial contributions to his alma mater, Columbia University, where protests began, stating that he was “no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken”.The Kraft family had donated at least $18m to the New York-based university. Funding to the institution has not yet been resumed.The Trump administration agreed with his stance and withdrew some $400m of federal funding for Columbia in 2025 on the basis that it had failed to prevent anti-Semitic acts on its campus. Columbia later settled by paying $221m and had its funding restored.What have other artists and venues said?Music critics and social media users have criticised what they see as the double standards that are being applied to those standing up for the rights of Palestinians and calling for an end to the war on Gaza.One of the stadiums that supported Kraft’s appeal to ban Macklemore from the tour was the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. That stadium did, however, host a performance by rapper Kanye West, who has been heavily criticised for a number of public anti-Semitic comments. In that case, free speech protections and contractual obligations were cited as reasons not to cancel.While Macklemore said he did not blame his longtime friend Sheeran for the debacle and described him as “apolitical”, Sheeran has performed at a charity concert to raise money for Ukraine, and he has also recorded a music video with the Ukrainian military rock band Antytila.