Macklemore Donates $1M in Ed Sheeran Tour Earnings to Palestinian Aid and Calls on Robert Kraft to Match It

Macklemore is challenging Robert Kraft to match his $1 million donation of net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations supporting Palestinians, following controversy over his removal from the tour.

Macklemore spoke out on Wednesday, Sept. 16, after all of Sheeran’s tour openers pulled out of the Loop Tour in solidarity with Palestinians and with Macklemore, who was dropped from the lineup earlier in the month over his onstage protests against the violence in Gaza. With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, he wanted to bring the conversation back to where it belongs, he wrote.

He will donate the entire $1 million of his net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people, he continued, and invited Robert Kraft, the billionaire who allegedly rallied other Loop Tour venue owners to get Macklemore dropped from the bill, to match his donation.

Whatever they disagree about, perhaps they can agree that Palestinian lives are worth protecting and that a Palestinian life is no less valuable than another life on this earth, the Seattle native added.

Billboard has reached out to Kraft and Sheeran’s representatives for comment.

Macklemore first named Kraft in a statement claiming the businessman threatened to cancel upcoming Loop shows at Gillette Stadium, owned by Kraft Group, unless Sheeran’s team dropped the hip-hop artist from the bill. Macklemore also alleged Kraft spoke on behalf of other stadium owners who issued similar ultimatums to the British pop singer.

Ed was in a difficult position, Macklemore wrote, and knew that his typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before.

On Monday, Sept. 14, the tour’s U.S. promoter, Messina Touring Group, announced that venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates notified them they would not allow a concert with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in tour cancellation and impact hundreds of thousands of fans, and that after discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore would not perform on the remaining support dates.

The following day, Kraft issued a statement explaining he made the call to prevent Gillette from being used as a platform for hate speech while acknowledging the suffering, pain, and loss of innocent Palestinians.

Advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community, Kraft wrote, adding he would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore to discuss the facts because ultimately their goal is the same regarding peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.

The organizations receiving Macklemore’s tour earnings include the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, the UNRWA USA National Committee, and Anera.

Writing a check is one of the least costly forms of solidarity available to him, the musician wrote in his Wednesday call to action, adding he is doing it because he can and because these organizations do the work while much of the world debates it, urging people not to move on when the news cycle does.

The debacle started with the phrase “Free Palestine” and Macklemore’s performance of his protest anthem “Hind’s Hall” alongside images of the violence in Gaza at Sheeran’s shows at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sept. 4 and 5. In the 2024 track, the rapper asserts that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinian people over the past three years, sparked by Hamas terrorist attacks on Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.

The United Nations classified Israel’s actions as genocide, but Israel and the United States, which are allies, denied this. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 73,000 Palestinians died in Israel’s repeated strikes as of July, and countless others face hunger and homelessness.

After Macklemore’s statement about being dropped, Sheeran confirmed he participated in discussions with Kraft and other venue owners about the decision, but emphasized that Messina Touring Group ultimately was responsible for dismissing Macklemore.

Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine, Sheeran wrote in a Tuesday, Sept. 15, statement, noting that Macklemore’s contract was with the promoter rather than him.

Sheeran stated at the time that he would never let down fans who made plans, nor abandon the touring crew and other support acts and musicians who rely on him for work and to make a living. Within hours, however, all remaining support acts referenced by Sheeran—Aaron Rowe, Finneas, and Lukas Graham—dropped out, posting statements backing Macklemore’s stance in support of Palestinians.

See Macklemore’s post below.