r/askanything • u/potfarmer9834 • 24d ago
Political Question Why is Ed Sheeran getting all the hate and not Robert Kraft?
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u/Facehugger81 24d ago
I think it's that people expect Kraft to be a scumbag from past examples of his behavior. Ed on the other had has been political in the past when pushing for Ukraine and whatnot. His sudden flip to all of the sudden be non-political has drawn a lot of the attention.
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u/Bureaucratic_Dick 24d ago
For me it’s less his stance on one particular political situation, and more about stabbing his buddy in the back.
If Sheeran didn’t want to comment on Israel/Palestine, that should be fine, not everyone needs to have loud opinions on every topic, but he should have stood up for artistic expression and free speech. Make it about that. Tell Kraft to blow it out his ass, and pull out of playing any venues that try to keep Macklemore off the bill.
But yeah, Kraft is a known piece of shit and that’s hardly news.
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u/fatbob42 24d ago
This is a wider phenomenon. You criticize people who you think you have a possibility of affecting. It’s kind of what leads to purity tests in political movements and parties.
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u/_WeSellBlankets_ 24d ago
Pushing for Ukraine wasn't political in the way that this is. Musicians refrain from anything borderline controversial. That's what they mean when they say they stay away from politics. Supporting Ukraine isn't controversial. To compare these two scenarios Ed would have had to have lobbied for greater funding from allies for the war effort. That's where feathers start getting ruffled.
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u/happydude4567 24d ago
'Political' means 'partisan'. People generally have no issues talking about politics, but they don't want to take one side and have to argue or defend it.
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u/Low-Literature-2908 24d ago
Don't worry. I already hated Robert Kraft. Named in the Epstein files. Arrested in a prostitution sting. Cheating football team. Yep he sucks as a human being.
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u/The_Rope_Daddy 24d ago edited 24d ago
Because Ed could have said no and the venues would have caved.
Edit: just like Green Day did for Pansy Division in their first major tour.
https://magnetmagazine.com/2009/04/08/memoir-pansy-divisions-jon-ginoli/
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u/BanjoFiddleLaser 24d ago
This tactic worked in the 60s when the Beatles refused to play in segregated venues
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u/Green7000 23d ago
It worked in the 40s when Frank Sinatra refused perform if black performers weren't welcome in hotels, restaurants and the like.
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u/johnnyhandbags 24d ago
I had this conversation earlier with my sister. IMO, Ed did two things wrong:
He threw another artist under the bus for monetary gain.
He claims he doesn't want to take sides but silencing someone else's message for political reasons is picking a side.
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u/potfarmer9834 24d ago
I think they would caved too they wouldn't have opened themselves up to the criticism to all the fans. I just think there is a effort now to pin this on all Ed at the moment and Robert Kraft is ok or helping that.
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u/The_Rope_Daddy 24d ago
People are reacting to Eds statement because Kraft never made a public statement. And we already knew that Kraft was a horrible person.
ETA: There are also calls to boycott Kraft owned businesses and venues.
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u/ILikeCheese510 24d ago
There are also calls to boycott Kraft owned businesses and venues.
Oh no! But... I love mac n cheese :(
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u/dyang44 24d ago edited 24d ago
Kraft did make a statement saying he would donate to "organizations in the region". Never specified orgs that would help Palestinians...likely to donate to the fucking idf
Edit: not likely, is actually
https://theintercept.com/2026/09/18/robert-kraft-macklemore-ed-sheeran-israel-donations/
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u/ShadowGLI 24d ago
I’m sure AIPAC bots and agents are dumping kerosine on Ed, since "Israel does not have a more loyal friend than Robert Kraft" as Netanyahu personally said on stage during the June 2019 Genesis Prize ceremony in Jerusalem
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u/MagnetoWasRight24 24d ago
Maybe but I think the more famous person will always be the focus.
Ed Sheeran is waaaay more famous, globally no one even knows who Robert Kraft is.
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u/Greenman8907 24d ago
Exactly. Ed had the opportunity to take a stand, and he folded faster than Superman on laundry day.
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u/phinbob 24d ago
He didn't even have to support the cause, he could have stayed apolitical (that's his choice) and just stood up for a friend and fellow artist against a bunch of stadium owners. Such a fail for someone with his public image.
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u/hiles_adam 24d ago
Exactly this he could have made it a "artists have the right of free expression and you shouldn't try to silence that no matter the opinion". 100% apolitical in fact probably would have scored him more points because either side would think they agree with them with that statement.
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u/TheChudWhisperer 24d ago
Remind me again who's name it is on the tour bus? To act like the buck doesn't stop with Ed is willfully ignorant.
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u/TheClayDart 24d ago
The same also happened when Green Day were going to tour to promote their album, Dookie, when they had Pansy Division (a pretty openly gay punk group) open for them. GD basically told the venues either they play or no one does. The venues caved
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u/toooskies 24d ago
Yep. Let Kraft cancel the concert for picking sides.
If your principle is to be non-political then you can’t let political people force you to make decisions because of their politics. You’re not being non-political anymore, you’re being a pushover.
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u/ruum-502 24d ago
Because hurting American billionaires feelings in America is illegal.
/s but not really
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u/jayron32 24d ago
Because Ed could have made the right decision and stood with his people against the bigot billionaire class. But he caved.
If he HAD stood with Macklamore then the hate would all go to Kraft.
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u/Secret-Bowler-584 24d ago
If he had stood with Macklemore no one would even know this had happened.
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u/daemonicwanderer 24d ago
Robert Kraft and friends don’t need a few nights of Ed Sheeran in his arena to make his balance sheet look good.
However, Ed would have been better off publicly standing up with Macklemore and saying that the tour is messed up because of Kraft and Co
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u/No-Option-7010 24d ago
Agreed. Ed seems to have tried appeasement and it failed. He ought to have stood with Macklemore.
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u/steve_jams_econo 24d ago
Exactly this. Ed is in a much better financial position to oppose this and him doing it would have carried a lot of weight because of how much money Kraft and is buddies could stand to lose if stuff gets cancelled.
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u/MammothSurround 24d ago
Sure, Ed is in a better financial position but the thousands of people employed by the tour are not. Cancelling shows also cancels their paychecks.
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u/steve_jams_econo 24d ago
Tens of thousands are dead because of a genocide. Music Industry workers can (and do) find other work (source: I work in the Pro Audio Industry and this happens in live touring. Most people are not working consistent 9-5 with the same team forever), dead people can't do anything. One of these two things is more urgent.
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u/jayron32 24d ago
Ed can still pay his team.
Kraft is responsible for his own employees at his own stadium.
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u/RenRen512 24d ago
Financially, he may have the personal means.
But the reality is that Sheeran probably isn't even the direct employer of the crews employed by the tour. There's a web of contracts, venue operators, and a ton of bureaucratic infrastructure involved.
More than likely, it's the promoter and whatever other entity is footing the bill that are actually on the hook. The idea that Sheeran can just cut checks is silly.
It's not a show at the local pub where Sheeran rang up some people he knows.
And even if he could pay the crews, pay them for what? There has to be a show for there to be a crew to get paid.
The fact is Sheeran was between a rock and a hard place. If he had backed Macklemore, he risked killing the tour and the jobs of all the people involved. As righteous and just as that would have been, it was not a smart move.
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u/leelee90210 24d ago
Because the public would rather hate a puppet than the puppet master. The public could just NOT go to gigs at Kraft’s establishments but that would like, you know, be an inconvenience to their personal lives so…
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u/xdr567 24d ago
Trying to dilute the blame.
Also: Kraft's company works night and day to surveil ordinary Americans. https://www.reddit.com/r/SipsTea/comments/1wh0a32/robert_kraft_runs_a_massive_surveillance_and/?share_id=3XvQ2oXdrHVdNXARV3_Bk&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1
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u/Commercial_Craft_605 24d ago
Because Kraft has a team that does nothing but track social media and respond and attack those that are anti Kraft and anti Israel. This is why I have been posting non stop to let you all see what he is doing. It’s blatant. They will be here soon because I posted. America is starting to wake up to the narrative.
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u/xdr567 24d ago
Kraft's company works night and day to surveil ordinary Americans. https://www.reddit.com/r/SipsTea/comments/1wh0a32/robert_kraft_runs_a_massive_surveillance_and/?share_id=3XvQ2oXdrHVdNXARV3_Bk&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1
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u/Ascheentsm 24d ago
"I am not complicit."
Is still being complicit if you do nothing else but make excuses.
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u/iamthedayman21 24d ago
Cause we already hated Robert Kraft, this hate for Ed Sheeran is new.
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u/ThePlasticSturgeons 24d ago
This. Kraft is such a piece of shit that it requires genuine effort to hate him more than what is already the default.
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u/Mutchmore 24d ago
Cause Ed is seen as a good person while Robert is a known Zionist. We don't assume they're good people already
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u/ourobourobouros 24d ago
"we ignore the people we know are the worst"
progressive discourse and values in 2026 in a nutshell
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u/JacobStills 23d ago edited 19d ago
Yup.
"Hey, what's the point in standing up to the third reich, we already know they are pieces of shit and we aren't going to convince them to stop; that's why we're focusing our energy on Winston Churchill's past comments about eugenics."
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u/daftphone 23d ago
I made almost the same analogy earlier today, thank you for the validation.
People pile on the soldier who follows orders with an uneasy conscience, but don’t press the dictator who gave the orders because everyone already knows they’re evil. It think it’s bizarre.
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u/rygelicus 24d ago
Kraft certainly should, no reason to continue to patronize his companies. Everything he owns should be boycotted to the degree possible.
The difference though is no one expects a guy like Kraft to be the good guy, the humanitarian. You don't get to his level of wealth being such a person. Ed though had been considered a good guy, a humanitarian. And where most things have been concerned he has been. He has been a part of many humanitarian causes over the years. But where Israel is concerned he failed that very simple test of character. He had the leverage on his side, he was about to start a massive highly profitable tour in the USA. If he had refused to continue the tour if they forced out Macklemore then it would have been the promoter or Kraft taking the publicity hit for cancelling the tour, not Ed. Ed would get the publicity of saying he was on the side of humanity, and freedom of speech, and that would play very well with his audience. Instead he chose to support the genocide, which doesn't play well at all.
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u/Opening_Pizza 24d ago
His army of bots are probably scrubbing the internet https://www.sajr.co.za/take-a-look-at-the-antisemitism-command-centre-inside-bostons-gillette-stadium/
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u/The_Aardvark_ 24d ago
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Everone knows Kraft is a Zionist. Sheeran had the opportunity to say something but chose not to...
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u/TheRabadoo 24d ago
Ed tried to portray himself as someone who isn’t a total piece of shit like we already know Kraft is lol
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u/MaraSovsLeftSock 23d ago
We already know Robert Kraft is a massive piece of shit, but ed Sheeran is an industry titan and has more power over this tour than he claims. By refusing to do anything but placate the stadium owners he’s both showing us that his morals are bankrupt and he’s throwing his supposed great friend under the bus.
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u/Onuus 24d ago
Man if Ed Sheeran would’ve said, ‘so we can’t play in stadiums anymore because of the owners - so we’re still gonna do the show but now they’re free in a park’
Yes, it would create a logistical nightmare that most cities wouldn’t sign off on, but it would make him look like a decent person and not a greedy for profit entity like everything else is now.
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u/Evening-Upset 24d ago
Everyone knows Kraft is a scumbag already. We just didn’t know Sheeran was… well most people didn’t.
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u/ZeroVoltsGiven 24d ago
It should be Kraft 100%, but Ed Sham could’ve said something too, he lost the opportunity
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u/O_o-22 24d ago
Kraft has bought off media outlets to drag Sheeran and Macklemore rather than himself. He’s a piece of shit tho, make no mistake. Friends with Epstein and went to his island and I’d bet dollars to donuts he’s up to his neck in kompromat. Quick google search says he donates heavily to Jewish and Israeli orgs to “combat anti-semitism”.
The best way for the Israelis to combat anti semitism at this point is to stop gratuitously brutalizing the Palestinian people who have no way of fighting back. But that has a snowballs chance in hell of happening.
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u/PinkFloydBoxSet 24d ago
The way I understand it, it was the lack of pushback from Sheeran that is the issue for him.
Everyone expects a billionaire to be an asshole. But Ed could have done more to stand up for Macklemore.
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u/hallowedeve1313 21d ago
Honestly anyone reasonable who is mad at Ed for the correct reasons and not just here to dunk on him for music or other arbitrary reasons, is mad because when it came to crunch time he bailed on his friend, hid behind false apoliticism and his workers, and ultimately rolled over for the billionaire class to yet again silence dissent. He has enough money and influence to have turned Kraft banning Macklemore into a much bigger issue for Kraft, but instead chose to try and let the whole thing blow over, fucking Macklemore over in the process.
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u/Busy-Doughnut6180 24d ago
I also want to remind people that we're not all American. I don't really have many words for a billionaire from another country who is apparently already well known for being a terrible person. I do, however, have some words for a popular singer from my country who failed morally on a few different levels, despite his good guy everyman persona.
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u/endomarkets 24d ago
Kraft = devil
Sheeran sided with devil.
We expect devil will be evil doer. To side with evil deserves shit and friends.
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u/Antique_Quote_4795 24d ago
There were also other stadiums/venues that did the same thing. My question is why does everything have to be a protest/political now? People pay to go see a performance, not listen to a speech about what ever an artists opinions on world issues are. I went to see an Aaron Lewis show and all he did was talk shit about democrats. Like shut the fuck up and just play the music I came here to see
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u/Andravisia 24d ago
Because Ed Sheeran could have shown courage in the face of this. He has enough money. He could have stood with his friend and his brave message of.....*checks notes* Genocide is Bad. He could have said 'I just won't play in Krafts stadiums.
But he didn't. He chose the path of silence.
And silence is complicity.
We expect people like Kraft to be genocidal pedifiles and utterly inhumane.
We hope that people we admire have the basic sense of decency to say that murder is wrong.
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u/Folkenhellfang 24d ago
Nobody knows Robert Kraft. They think it's just ketchup.
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u/HeyItsJustDave 24d ago
People expect that from rich tycoons on the Epstein list. They don’t expect it from Irish pop stars.
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u/goon_platoon_72 24d ago
Billionaires are untouchable until EVERYONE decides they need to be touched.
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u/indolent08 24d ago
I've seen both getting the hate. Ed for the cowardly responses and general spinelessness, Kraft for being a huge throbbing Zionist and old buddy of one J. Epstein.
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u/dndnxnfrfnddjxjx 24d ago
Most people don’t go to concerts to be hectored by the politics of self righteous entertainers.
Good for Ed.
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u/cyclemonster 24d ago
Ed could have said "my tours gross billions of dollars, I decide what happens". Instead he folded like a chair.
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u/DMStewart2481 24d ago
We expect Kraft to be a piece of shit. Sheeran refused to stand up for his fellow artists.
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u/Mission-Link-1566 24d ago
Because people idolize celebrities as if they matter. Forgetting the big Corporations are the people who actually make a difference in our everyday lives with their donations and lobbying ✅
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u/Ill-Dependent2976 24d ago
I say we treat New England Patriot fanboys with the contempt they deserve. Just like Ed Sheeran
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u/Scan2Plan_123 24d ago
Everyone hates Robert Kraft, but it’s new for Ed, so it feels more significant right now.
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u/bauer883 24d ago
He rolled on his friends for the almighty dollar/euro.
Money can’t buy integrity.
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u/Cousin_fromBoston 24d ago
Because Pats fans are bootlickers for the most part. Most NFL fans are in general
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u/whiteroseatCH 23d ago
Kraft was already known to be inthe Epstein files, so people were not surprised that he is a POS.
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u/MichelleBarrymoore2 23d ago
Because Robert Kraft is a fucking racist moron. Ed took his money this is the problem. Is Ed not rich enough? Macklemore has always been outspoken and said what's on his mind whether it's the use of heroin in hip hop being sold to kids or homophobia in hip hop. this is his whole thing, ed knew this and pussied out when the big money holders came down on him All Macklemore said is can we stop killing civilians and free Palestine and this mf acting like he said gas the Jews..he didn't say that and that would have been an awful thing to say
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u/Proper_Locksmith924 23d ago
Because Sheenan did the dirty work on the behest of the Kraft.
Kraft deserves hate as well but for other reasons
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u/GruesumGary 23d ago
The public will always choose to go after the lowest ones on the totem pole. Destroying Kraft would mean that we'd have to stop watching the sportsballs... and we simply can't have that!
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u/Tom1952Phx 23d ago
They both had role in trying to stop free speech Ed not one for standing up for underdog
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u/Cracknoreos 23d ago
Because it’s easier to cancel Ed Sheeran than it is a Billionaire, NFL owner. People like to flex their virtue in the easiest target possible.
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u/nipcom 23d ago
2 reasons 1: robeet kraft is a known pos so it expected and in a very wired way, honest about how much of pos he is
2: ed sheeran had and still has the ability to reverse this decision he is the headline artist, there is no show without him and he a his team has final say on who goes in the show or not, so him presenting that its not his fault and saying he’s no political while a few years ago preforming at a private party that kraft held is ed just being spineless and knowing what he’s doing is evil and not wanting to admit it
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u/Immediate-Big-4158 23d ago
Everyone already knew Kraft was a piece of shit. Didn’t expect it from ed Sheeran
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u/Dis_ingenuous 23d ago
A billionaire, especially a pro Israeli one, was expected to act this way. Censorship and oppression.
People had expected Sheeran would rise up and be strong. He caved. It looks even worse when he caved and other artists didn't.
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u/AdventurousGlass7432 23d ago
Robert Kraft is famous for getting happy endings in Florida. Ha can’t do everything
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u/Sellwoods 23d ago
Because the leprechaun decided to be spineless, it was his choice. Nobody to blame but himself. Robert Kraft was being Robert Craft, Leprechaun had a chance to have integrity but choice the cheap tent instead
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u/EmperorGrinnar 23d ago
Ed could have handled it so much better, and everything he's said since the incident, he's only made it worse for himself.
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u/the3rd_culturekid 23d ago
People expected more out of Ed. Robert Kraft is exactly who you'd expect him to be.
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u/Express-Language5573 22d ago
Every single artist on the tour stood wth musicians against censorship except…Ed Sheeran, the only one who could really afford it. That’s the bottom line regardless of whether you are pro Israel, pro Palestine or are completely neutral. Faced with standing for something, Sheeran opted for devout cowardice.
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u/Justtryingtohelp1317 22d ago
This a the best question about this whole situation. I despise all the NFL stadium owners who capitulated to this pedo.
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u/YBSIsDead 21d ago
Naaah. You gotta keep cooking Kraft to let him know he aint innocent in this shit. Yes, Ed Sheeran, but Kraft started all this. I would argue Kraft was MORE diabolical. Cook BOFFUM
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u/abugghaus7 21d ago
Because the world is full of hand-wringers and whiners who feel better about themselves when they join, "A Cause" by serial posting online, or as a celeb... spouting out their whiny vitriol when they have no skin in the game.
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Seriously... I understand Macklemore has put forward money and not just shouting "Free Palestine".
But how many Americans who are fawning all over this issue and hating on Sheeran have done a concrete thing FOR the people of Palestine?
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Just hating on someone you don't actually have to have a face-to-face conversation with, and shouting out a slogan doesn't actually help the Palestinians. Doesn't do a damn thing for them and their plight.
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Just as bad as attention-seeking TikTokers being annoying little brats online.
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Sheeran shutting down the rest of his tour wouldn't have done anything for the people of Palestine, yet it would have affected the people who were hoping to make a wage working in whatever capacity they were scheduled to.
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People want to hate..... and that's my rant for the day
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u/Initial-Western-1067 21d ago
Low expectations for Robert kraft, he's been a zionist creep all his life.
Sheeran is an easy target and the consequences are more visible to his career.
Kraft does not give a shit about being likable, so cancelling him does nothing.
Some people had hope for sheeran being on the right side, since he had Macklemore on with his view being out long before this tour started (kinda applies to the other supporting acts) so disappointment hurts with his betrayal.
Kraft would not be hurt by public backlash as much, but boycotts of his properties would have effect on him. Hopefully whoever is able does not put more money in his pockets.
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u/Jack_M0NR03 21d ago
Kraft got caught red-handed in a human trafficking sting, paid some lawyers, and everyone swept it under the rug in three weeks. Meanwhile this sub is treating a guy being mildly insensitive in a press conference like he committed a war crime.
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u/CoalMinersmyth 21d ago
Because Kraft is already despised and Sheeran instead of telling Kraft fuckoff and canceling that show caved like a bitch
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u/Mollythemuttsdad 21d ago
Because Robert Kraft is a disgusting piece of shit and everybody knows it. Ed Sheeran is also a disgusting piece of shit and people are just now finding out… does that clear up your question?
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u/ImpressiveSide1324 21d ago
Everyone already hates Robert Kraft and this is nothing new for him. For a lot of people, this is the result of them being blindsided by Sheeran throwing his friends under the bus over Israel
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u/Realistic-Horror-425 21d ago
Sheeran might need to downsize his venues, maybe he could appear in the parking lots of massage parlors?
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u/IndieOk0355 21d ago
It's because it only feels good to shame people who are capable of feeling it.
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u/Freo_5434 🦀 17d ago
Because they think Sheeran will respond to being threatened.
Kraft will simply ignore them -- as they should be ignored.
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u/Excellent-Case570 24d ago
Because people already hate Robert Kraft and don’t expect anything better from him.