Zach Bryan broke a record while performing at Gillette Stadium wearing a “Free Palestine” shirt, just weeks after Macklemore was kicked off Ed Sheeran’s tour ahead of his concerts at the Robert Kraft-owned stadium due to his pro-Palestinian speeches.
Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” shirt during his Friday and Saturday night shows for his With Heaven On tour. He would not address the shirt or make additional comments on stage about Palestine.
“Tonight, Zach Bryan broke the Gillette Stadium attendance record with 73,538 fans!” » wrote Gillette Stadium on its official Instagram page on Saturday.
The Hollywood Reporter had already contacted Kraft’s representative for comment.
Bryan’s “Free Palestine” shirt comes amid controversy surrounding Macklemore after the rapper was booted from opening Sheeran’s Loop tour last month after making headlines for his pro-Palestinian speeches during his performances. At the time, the tour promoter said upcoming venues hosting shows, including Gillette Stadium, were threatening to pull out if Macklemore remained on the lineup.
In response to his exclusion from the tour, Macklemore claimed that Kraft “rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: If Macklemore stays on tour, you will not be allowed to play our venues.” Sheeran’s tour was scheduled to take place at Gillette Stadium in Kraft, Massachusetts at the end of September (the shows were ultimately canceled at the last minute due to inclement weather).
Kraft defended his decision, writing in his own statement at the time: “Gillette Stadium has a long-standing commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech. Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage at Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been profoundly offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross this line.
Macklemore then invited Kraft to match his $1 million donation to support the Palestinian people. In response, the New England Patriots owner said he plans to “commit $2 million to match his donation to help the region combat this humanitarian crisis.”
Sheeran previously released his own lengthy statement on the matter, saying in part: “Maccklemore’s decision to leave the tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me.”
The “Shape of You” singer added that he also “spoke at length with venues all week trying to build a bridge” and “was also involved in direct discussions with promoters as well as activists on both sides to try to find a mutual solution for all, but the decision of the venue and promoter was final.”
Sheeran further addressed the backlash during his Philadelphia concert at Lincoln Financial Stadium on September 19. “I try in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music and my shows to be about unity, not division. About humanity, not politics,” he told the crowd. “But this is a humanitarian issue and I can no longer hide how I feel about it.
“What happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic, unjustifiable and disproportionate,” the artist added.
Amid the fallout, Finneas, Danish pop group Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe, who were all scheduled to open for Sheeran on tour, also dropped out in solidarity with Macklemore.
The rapper also later announced his own “Free Palestine” tour, revealing last week that “all three concerts sold out immediately.”
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