New Delhi: All eyes are now on American billionaire Robert Kraft after he confirmed his role in the removal of rapper Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium during Ed Sheeran’s US tour.
Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, said he barred Macklemore from performing at the venue because of the rapper’s past statements, including his support for Palestinians.
Macklemore had been scheduled to perform as part of Sheeran’s Loop Tour later this month.
Who is Robert Kraft?
Kraft grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household in Massachusetts and now heads the Kraft Group which owns the Patriots and Gillette Stadium. He has long been a prominent supporter of Jewish and Israeli causes and Forbes estimates his value at over $13 billion.
In 2019, he received the $1 million Genesis Prize, an annual award often described as the “Jewish Nobel”. The prize recognised his support for Israel. That same year, he announced a $20 million personal contribution to establish the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.
Kraft’s relationship with Israel has also been publicly recognised at the highest political level. At the 2019 Genesis Prize ceremony, then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Kraft, saying, “Israel does not have a more loyal friend than Robert Kraft.”
The Macklemore controversy has now brought that history back into focus.
Additionally, Kraft’s name has also surfaced earlier in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein case. In 2019, Kraft was charged with soliciting prostitution in Florida but, the charges were later dropped in 2020.