Zach Bryan Wears ‘Free Palestine’ Shirt Weeks After Macklemore Controversy - Newsweek

Country music star Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” T-shirt during a concert Friday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, at Gillette Stadium, a venue owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

The appearance follows a September controversy in which Kraft reportedly pressured singer Ed Sheeran to drop supporting act Macklemore over pro-Palestinian remarks the rapper made during a New Jersey concert. Macklemore was subsequently removed from Sheeran’s U.S. tour, prompting several other supporting acts to withdraw in solidarity.

Bryan’s choice of attire at his Friday concert is expected to be viewed as a direct challenge to Kraft, who previously described Macklemore’s remarks as “deeply offensive” and acknowledged pressing Sheeran to drop the artist.

Newsweek contacted Bryan and Kraft, via the New England Patriot press office, for comment on Saturday outside of regular office hours.

Bryan, a Grammy Award-winning singer and U.S. Navy veteran, kicked off a two-night engagement at Gillette Stadium on Friday as part of his tour, wearing a black T-shirt bearing the slogan “FREE PALESTINE.” Below the text was a pine tree graphic alongside the phrase “AN APPEAL TO HEAVEN,” a reference to a historical flag used by early American warships during the Revolutionary War.

Noah Le Gros, Bryan’s guitarist, also wore a green Palestinian soccer jersey during the performance and later posted a photograph of himself wearing the shirt in front of a Kraft Sports and Entertainment sign on social media. Neither Bryan nor members of his band made verbal statements regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict during the concert.

In the past, Bryan has emphasized that he does not identify strongly with either political party, describing himself as a "total libertarian," and has stressed that his political views are shaped more by his life experiences than partisan loyalty.

On September 4, Macklemore delivered a short speech concerning Palestinian rights and chanted “Free Palestine” while performing his song “Hind’s Hall” at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where he was supporting Sheeran. During a subsequent performance the following day, he stated that criticism of Israel should not be conflated with attacks on Jewish people.

In response, the Israeli-American Council launched a petition demanding Macklemore be removed from Sheeran’s tour. Days later, on September 14, the rapper said he had been dropped following discussions with Sheeran.

In a later statement, Macklemore said Kraft played a key role in this, commenting: “Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”

Kraft said he had banned Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium with Sheeran on September 25 and 26 based on his “recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran's shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.”

The billionaire also stressed that the decision was not intended to diminish Palestinian suffering or deny anyone the ability to advocate for Palestinians.

On September 15, Sheeran released a statement saying the decision to drop Macklemore from the tour wasn't his and that he tried to broker a solution. The following day, Macklemore announced he was making a $1 million donation to Palestinian aid groups and challenged Kraft to match the contribution. Kraft later revealed that Sheeran had already requested a $2 million commitment toward humanitarian assistance in the region and said he agreed to participate.

Macklemore also went on to announce a “Free Palestine” tour with European arena performances scheduled in October in Dublin, London and Paris, saying that all proceeds from the tour would “benefit organizations supporting the Palestinian people and movement.”

Late last month, Sheeran tearfully addressed the backlash during a concert in Philadelphia. The singer called the situation in Gaza "catastrophic and unjustifiable." He also apologized for mistakes made during the controversy and said he is "listening and learning" while exploring ways to support victims of the conflict.

The conflict that framed Macklemore’s remarks began on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a coordinated attack in southern Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people and left more than 5,400 injured, according to humanitarian agencies.

More than 200 hostages were taken into Gaza. Israeli authorities and humanitarian organizations have since documented additional Israeli deaths in the ensuing conflict, bringing the total number of Israelis killed in the Gaza war and related hostilities to more than 2,000, a figure that includes civilians, soldiers, police personnel, and security officials.

Gaza’s Health Ministry and international humanitarian agencies report that over 74,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, with the broader casualty count rising to at least 76,621 people across the region when including deaths in Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.

A study by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found that 70 percent of Palestinians killed in residential buildings were women and children, underscoring the disproportionate impact on civilians.

The humanitarian toll is even larger when accounting for indirect deaths. Analyses published in 2025 and 2026 estimate that Gaza’s true death count—including trauma‑related fatalities, starvation, and lack of medical care—may exceed 100,000, representing roughly 4-5 percent of Gaza’s pre‑war population.

Famine conditions have compounded the crisis. By early 2024, 2.2 million people in Gaza were experiencing emergency‑level food insecurity. By mid‑2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reported that the entire population faced acute food insecurity, with famine formally declared in the Gaza Governorate in August 2025.

The West Bank has also seen escalating violence. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed there since October 2023, including over 200 children, and more than 6,000 have been injured.

A ceasefire agreement brokered in October 2025 brought temporary relief, allowing for increased aid deliveries and some hostage releases. But both sides have accused each other of violating the terms, and fighting has continued intermittently in Gaza, the West Bank, and southern Lebanon.

Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here. Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Matthew Robinson and Anthony Murray.