Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” shirt while performing at Gillette Stadium Friday night for his With Heaven On Tour after owner Robert Kraft defended his decision to urge Macklemore to be removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour after he made pro-Palestinian remarks at previous shows.
In photos and videos captured by fans and shared on social media, Bryan can be seen wearing a black shirt reading “Free Palestine” while several members of his group also wore Palestine-branded clothing.
Bryan would not address the shirt or comment further on stage about Palestine.
The country singer will be doing a two-night tour at Kraft Stadium, scheduled to wrap up his tour Saturday night.
Bryan’s “Free Palestine” jersey comes amid controversy surrounding Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium. Rapper Macklemore previously claimed he was kicked out of Sheeran’s opening tour after Kraft “rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively, they gave him an ultimatum: If Macklemore stays on the tour, you won’t be allowed to play our venues.” » During his opening set at MetLife Stadium, Macklemore publicly shouted “Free Palestine” and showed images of Gaza on the screen behind him.
“What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one scene,” Macklemore also shared in a statement. “When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which are too dangerous to hear, everyone should pay attention.”
On his Instagram Stories, Macklemore shared a photo of Bryan wearing the shirt writing “Robert Kraft” and putting the side eye emoji and the Palestinian flag.
In response, Kraft said in a statement: “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 have been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that its participation in the events of September 25 and The 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross this line.
He also said he “would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same: peace for all, an end to suffering and an end to all hatred.”
About the decision, Sheeran shared in his own statement: “Macklemore’s withdrawal from the tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me.”
Amid the fallout, other bands scheduled to open Sheeran’s tour — Finneas, Danish pop group Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe — dropped out in solidarity with Macklemore.
Macklemore later revealed that he was donating $1 million to support the Palestinian people and invited Kraft to match his donation. Gillette Stadium owner agreed and announced that he plans to “commit $2 million to match his donation to help the region combat this humanitarian crisis.”
Macklemore has since announced a “Free Palestine” tour, with all proceeds going to pro-Palestinian organizations. He will perform in Dublin, Paris and London on October 26, 29 and 30. Other artists will be announced.
Last week, Macklemore shared that following his announcement, all three dates have since sold out. “I’m honestly blown away,” Macklemore wrote. “We put on these shows quickly and as a community, believing that musicians can stand in solidarity with Palestine, use the stage to raise money and show what collective action can look like. When those in power try to silence our calls for liberation, art will always be a form of resistance.”
The Hollywood Reporter asked Kraft for comment.
A previous version of this story incorrectly identified an X account as Zach Bryan’s. His account would have been deactivated.
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