Background
Following an incident where rapper Macklemore was removed as an opening act from Ed Sheeran’s 2026 tour due to his statements on Palestine, online discussions resurfaced regarding Gillette Stadium and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Social media users highlighted past controversies, specifically pointing out that Kraft previously faced a solicitation charge and that his name appears within document sets related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Fact Check Verification
- Claim: Robert Kraft once faced a solicitation charge and appears in files associated with Jeffrey Epstein.
- Rating: True
Context & Findings
- Solicitation Charge: Court records from Palm Beach County, Florida, confirm that Kraft was charged in early 2019 with soliciting prostitution following an investigation into a Jupiter, Florida massage parlor. However, the legal case was ultimately dismissed after a federal appeals court upheld a lower court’s ruling that the secretly recorded video evidence—upon which the prosecution largely hinged—constituted an unlawful invasion of privacy.
- Epstein File Mentions: Kraft’s name does appear across multiple documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice concerning Jeffrey Epstein. The vast majority of these documents consist of news articles reporting on Kraft’s 2019 solicitation charge. Other records include an email exchange where Epstein discussed suggesting an attorney for Kraft’s defense team, a mass-email death announcement where Kraft was among the copied recipients, and a link to a separate financial news story concerning offshore business holdings.
- Involvement in Epstein’s Crimes: Available federal records do not link Kraft to Epstein’s illegal enterprise, and Kraft has never faced any accusations or charges regarding direct involvement in those crimes.
Origin of the Recent Discussion
The renewed public focus began after Macklemore claimed on social media that Kraft was personally responsible for dropping him from Ed Sheeran’s concert lineup at Gillette Stadium. Kraft’s office subsequently confirmed the decision, stating that the venue maintains policies against hosting hate speech or providing platforms that cross certain boundaries. In response, critics on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook began drawing attention to Kraft’s past legal history and document appearances, prompting widespread verification of the claims.