Zach Bryan made a statement with his clothing choice while performing at Gillette Stadium after Macklemore was banned from the venue for voicing a similar sentiment.
Taking to the stage in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Friday, October 2, Bryan, 30, wore a shirt emblazoned with the words “Free Palestine.”
The action appeared to be in support of Macklemore, given the timing and location. Gillette Stadium is the home of the New England Patriots, a team owned by Robert Kraft.
Kraft, 85, previously announced Macklemore would not be welcome at the venue after the rapper chanted “free Palestine” while performing at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as part of Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour last month.
Macklemore, 43, was then controversially dropped from his remaining eight scheduled Loop Tour appearances. (Sheeran, 35, publicly denied firing Macklemore and has since donated $2 million to provide global humanitarian aid.)
After Macklemore was axed from Sheeran’s tour, fellow openers Finneas and Lukas Graham also left in solidarity. Sheeran’s backing band, Beoga, similarly withdrew from the lineup.
Sheeran returned to the stage amid the controversy, performing in Philadelphia on September 19. He apologized to the crowd for making “mistakes” when it came to dealing with the fallout of Macklemore’s axing.
Macklemore. (Photo by ARNAUD FINISTRE / AFP)
“This has put me in the middle of an important, passionate argument about freedom of speech on the most complex issue on the planet,” Sheeran said. “[My music] has always been a safe space for everyone. That matters hugely to me. Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am. That is why I’m here tonight — on my own — continuing my own tour.”
For his part, Macklemore announced he would be embarking on his own “Free Palestine Tour” in the wake of his removal from Sheeran’s shows.
“If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the last three years,” Macklemore wrote via Instagram on September 24. “There has been a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now.”
UPDATE — 9/19/2024, 9:35 a.m. ET: Country singer Zach Bryan issued an apology after tweeting about Taylor Swift and Kanye West. “For the record guys I wasn’t coming for Taylor the other night,” Bryan wrote via his Instagram Story on Thursday, September 19. “I was drunkenly comparing two records and it came out wrong.” He […]
He continued, “It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore. People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community. To use the stage for more than entertainment. To push back when the call for a Free Palestine is met with attempts to silence it.”
In the post, Macklemore took aim at the idea that the wealthy had the power to silence artists speaking up.
“What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage,” Macklemore added. “When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention. So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit.”
