Dave Portnoy
Role at the time: Founder of Barstool Sports, commenting publicly on his own verified X account
Statement summary
In a post and attached 5:24 video on September 16, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy backed Robert Kraft's refusal to host Macklemore at Gillette Stadium, saying he did so "1000%" in the post text and "110%" in the video. He described Macklemore as an "anti-Semitic 9-11 truther," citing the rapper's 2014 costume, remarks Portnoy characterised as 9/11 conspiracy theorising, and Macklemore's use of the word genocide twelve days after the October 7 attacks. Portnoy argued the removal was not censorship because Kraft owns the venue, said Kraft has spent a decade fighting antisemitism, and urged more Jewish public figures to speak out, predicting Kraft would face abuse for it. Portnoy's characterisations of Macklemore and his account of the Gaza war are his own.
“I back Robert Kraft banning Macklemore from performing at Gillette 1000% and thank him for having a spine when many others in his shoes don't. … And Macklemore, this anti-Semitic 9-11 truther who's now turning this into a political rally, you're going to come into Bob Kraft's house and spit in his face? No fucking way. That's not censorship. … He owns the stadium. It's his house.”
Why we used this label
Portnoy condemns the speech and the speaker directly, calling Macklemore an "anti-Semitic 9-11 truther" and saying his set turned the concert into a political rally, and he endorses the removal as a property owner's prerogative rather than censorship. That places him with Greenblatt (591, 592), StopAntisemitism (593) and Elan Carr (777), who condemn the speech. The closest competing label is “Challenged the characterization”, on the basis that much of the video disputes the "censorship" framing; it loses because the passage goes on to express a clear substantive condemnation of the conduct itself rather than only contesting a label.