**A feud between two popular musicians and a billionaire has sparked **a major debate over the ability of America’s elite to stifle free speech.
Ed Sheeran’s tour is the buzziest topic in the United States right now, and not for reasons he would prefer. A firestorm of criticism exploded after Sheeran, known as the
Mr. Nice Guyof pop music, kicked rapper Macklemore off his tour earlier this week. Macklemore’s offense? Saying “Free Palestine” during a concert.
New details are spilling into the public of how this unraveled. The debacle demonstrates the power that billionaires can wield to deplatform political views they disagree with — and how deeply the issue of Palestinian rights resonates with the American public.
What led Sheeran’s team to fire Macklemore? A 40-minute call from billionaire Robert Kraft, the 85-year-old owner of the Patriots. Kraft phoned Sheeran after hearing about Macklemore’s comments while opening for the singer, and threatened to cancel Sheeran’s performances at Gillette Stadium if the rapper remained on tour,
theWall Street Journalreports. Kraft reportedly rallied like-minded NFL stadium owners to pledge to do the same.
Kraft has been a
staunch supporterof Israel and Jewish causes, long before the country’s violent war with Hamas militants in Gaza. “Israel does not have a more loyal friend than Robert Kraft,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahusaid in 2019.
The backlash has been intense. All four opening acts on the tour
pulled out. Sheeran said his promotermade the decisionto remove Macklemore, and explained that he prefers to keep politics out of music. But that hasn’t stopped organizations fromrallying protestorsto gather outside venues on his tour. “‘not taking a side’ is taking a side,”reads a commenton Sheeran’s Instagram — which earned 250,000 likes.
Politicians accused Kraft of censorship, and warned that such tactics could be used to silence free speech. “We need to be very clear about how dangerous a precedent this is,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told TMZ. “This is about how just a handful of stadium owners and the elite can prevent an entire massive issue … It could be speaking out about AI. It could be speaking out about any issue.”
Sheeran and Kraft are trying to save face.
In the phone call with Sheeran, Kraft reportedly said he felt for the Palestinian people, but believed Macklemore’s comments constituted hate speech. Kraft also cited Hamas as the real problem in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and mentioned the time Macklemore
was accusedof dressing in a “Jewish caricature” costume in 2014, according to theJournal. (Macklemore apologized for the incident at the time.)
Kraft seems to want this whole drama to be over with. Macklemore announced that he
plans to donate$1 million to fund aid for Palestinians, and urged Kraft to match his donation. The billionaire seemingly agreed… at Sheeran’s request.
“Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis,” Kraft said
in a statement. The singer plans to call other venue owners and ask them to do the same, according to the statement.
Here’s the thing: Sheeran could have seen this coming. Macklemore isn’t quiet about his activism, often speaking about human rights abuses around the world. He has called ICE
𝕏a terrorist organization, and▶released a songthat describes Israel’s war in Gaza as a genocide. The American public alsowidely disapproves of ICEand deeplysympathizes withPalestinians, according to polls.
**“Audiences can vote with their feet. If they feel offended by a support act, they have the right to walk out in protest,” read an op-ed in The Independent.
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** The Tyrannosaurus rex had roughly the same **body temperature as humans, a new study found. The finding may help researchers better understand how the predators lived and what type of prey they hunted down.
** A former SpaceX employee and his wife are balling out **after suddenly becoming rich when the company went public. The couple, both 35 year olds, described 2026 as their “Year of Freak” because they’ve budgeted $25,000 a month to travel the world and pursue their passions. A taste of what they’ve done: took acting classes in the French countryside, paraglided in the Alps, and attended a film festival in Venice. Their next stop involves studying sculpture in Mexico. Am I jealous? Yes? Am I happy for this couple, who seem to be super cool? Also yes.
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** Japanese Breakfast frontwoman Michelle Zauner announced **that she’s releasing her next memoir, “Thank You for Your Suffering,” next April. The book will focus on a year she spent living in South Korea, where she learned to speak her late mother’s language and connected with family. Her first book, “Crying in H Mart,” was incredible, so I’m looking forward to this one!
** Scientists tracked a trio of wild dogs as they embarked **on an eight-month, 2,500-mile journey through Africa last year. The dogs split from their pack once they became old enough to search for mates and start their own families. Hey, Disney, need a new movie idea?
** New cat just dropped!** Researchers discovered the first new feline species in over a century, after a man picked up a kitty with a leopard pattern on the side of the road in Bolivia. I want one!
