Macklemore Donates $1M in Ed Sheeran Tour Earnings to Palestinian Aid, Calls on Robert Kraft to Match It
Categoria: Musica
"Writing a check is one of the least costly forms of solidarity available to me," the rapper said.
Por Billboard | 16/09/2026
Macklemore is challenging Robert Kraft to put his money where his mouth is amid the controversy surrounding Ed Sheeran ‘s Loop Tour and the “Free Palestine” debate. The rapper spoke out once again Wednesday (Sept. 16) after a two-day frenzy that saw every single one of Sheeran’s tour openers pulling out of Loop in solidarity with Palestinians and with Macklemore, who was dropped from the trek over his onstage protests earlier in the month against the violence in Gaza. “With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs,” he wrote. Related A Timeline of the Ed Sheeran & Macklemore ‘Free Palestine’ Tour Controversy Robert Kraft Calls Macklemore’s ‘Free Palestine’ Statements ‘Deeply Offensive’: ‘A Line Had Been Crossed’ Ed Sheeran Says Decision to Drop Macklemore From Tour ‘Was Not Mine’: ‘I Have Spent This Week Trying to Build Bridges’ “I will be donating the entire $1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people,” he continued. “And I invite Robert Kraft” — the billionaire who allegedly rallied other Loop Tour venue owners to get Macklemore dropped from the bill — “to match my donation.” “Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,” the Seattle native added. “A Palestinian life is no less valuable than another life on this earth.” Billboard has reached out to Kraft and Sheeran’s reps for comment. Macklemore’s call to action comes after he first named Kraft in a statement claiming that the businessman had threatened to cancel the upcoming Loop shows at Gillette Stadium, which is owned by Kraft Group, unless Sheeran’s team dropped the hip-hop star from the bill. Macklemore also alleged that Kraft had spoken on behalf of other stadium owners, who gave the British pop singer similar ultimatums. “Ed was in a f–ked up position,” Macklemore wrote. “He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before.” On Monday (Sept. 14), the trek’s U.S. promoter, Messina Touring Group, announced: “We have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.” The following day, Kraft issued a statement , in which he explained that he’d made the call in order to prevent Gillette from being used as “a platform for hate speech,” while also acknowledging “the suffering of innocent Palestinians ̷