OMITTED

What the news leaves out.

← Omitted front page

Macklemore Chants Free Palestine Despite NFL Owners Assurance

3 sources · updated 2026-09-19
Left 0% Center 0% Right 100%
0 left · 0 center · 3 right

What happened

Macklemore opened for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 4 and the following night, using both sets to chant Free Palestine, criticize ICE, and perform the protest song Hind's Hall while wearing a keffiyeh. After the first show, promoters for Sheeran's Loop Tour were reported to have told NFL stadium owners that Macklemore would not repeat those remarks; he did so anyway on the second night. Patriots owner Robert Kraft and other NFL owners, including David Tepper, Arthur Blank, and Jeffrey Lurie, objected, and Kraft told Sheeran that Macklemore would not be allowed at Gillette Stadium. Promoter Messina Touring Group then removed Macklemore from remaining U.S. dates; fellow openers Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe, and Beoga withdrew in solidarity. Sheeran continued the tour and said Macklemore's contract was with the promoter, not with him.
Sourcing check · Mostly on the record · 3 articles

2 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It started with a Wall Street Journal report citing unnamed sources; a named source appeared 9 hours later. Most articles credit Wall Street Journal rather than reporting it themselves.

What these terms mean and how they're counted
On the record · names a source 2 of 3
On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Robert Kraft, The Wall Street Journal, Colin Kaepernick and Macklemore
Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 3
Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
Credits another outlet 2 of 3
The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal
Unnamed sources 1 of 3
The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this. Here: e.g. “the Wall Street Journal reported”
How it developed
When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 17, 07:33 UTC by New York Post, crediting Wall Street Journal, with no named source. First named source 9 hours later, from Daily Wire.
Not counted 0
Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK. Only right-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days; NBC News reported it on 2026-09-14.
Omitted — what each side leaves out

Unpacked

Left-leaning coverage has not reported the episode at all. Right-leaning coverage reports that Macklemore chanted Free Palestine at a second MetLife Stadium date after concert promoters allegedly assured NFL owners he would stop using the stage for that message. A reader there therefore never learns that owners including Robert Kraft warned they would not host Ed Sheeran's remaining stadium dates, or that Macklemore was then dropped from the rest of the tour. Right-leaning coverage itself splits on how to label what he said. Daily Wire calls the first-night remarks an "antisemitic rant." The New York Post instead describes them as "anti-Israel rants." What, if anything, was Macklemore told about that alleged promise before he took the stage the second night?
Bottom line

Macklemore was cut from Ed Sheeran's stadium tour after a second-night Free Palestine chant that the New York Post says followed a promise to NFL owners he would stop, and left-leaning coverage has not reported that sequence.

The Right View
The New York Post, The Daily Wire, and Fox News, relying heavily on Wall Street Journal reporting, present the story as Macklemore breaking an alleged promoter assurance that he would stop using Sheeran’s stadium dates for anti-Israel remarks, after which named NFL owners treated the chants as hate speech and threatened to pull venues. They emphasize Kraft’s direct call to Sheeran, Kraft’s statement that advocacy for Palestinians should not obscure Hamas or antisemitism, and other stadiums (Lucas Oil, AT&T, Raymond James) that also signaled they would not host Macklemore. Coverage notes that other openers quit in solidarity, that Sheeran publicly blamed promoters and venues rather than himself, and that Kraft later pledged $2 million for Palestinian relief after Macklemore pledged $1 million of tour earnings. Fox News additionally reported Colin Kaepernick accusing Kraft and other owners of openly colluding against Macklemore, which Kaepernick compared to his own 2017 NFL collusion grievance.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive on several checkable points: two MetLife performances, Macklemore’s removal from the Loop Tour, named NFL owners and venues, public statements from Kraft and Sheeran, and the withdrawal of other opening acts. The claim that promoters promised owners Macklemore would not repeat the remarks is alleged in WSJ-based reporting and is not independently documented in the coverage provided; Kaepernick’s collusion charge is an accusation, not an established finding. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for the underlying WSJ sourcing, any on-the-record confirmation or denial from Messina Touring Group or the stadiums of the alleged assurance, and further statements or a meeting between Kraft and Macklemore.

3 sources

More stories

The week's bottom lines, in your inbox

One email a week: the five stories that mattered and what they actually mean. Free.