Macklemore will donate his net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour to six groups supporting Palestinians and urges Robert Kraft to match it.
Rapper Macklemore will donate his entire $1 million in net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations supporting Palestinians, days after he was removed from the tour following public remarks in support of Palestine.
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Macklemore announced the donation Wednesday, saying he wanted to direct attention toward Palestinians facing violence and deprivation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. He also challenged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to match the contribution.
“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,” Macklemore wrote on Instagram. “And I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation.”
Macklemore says he will donate the entire $1m in net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s ‘Loop Tour’, after he was removed, to six organisations supporting Palestinians, saying he wants to keep the focus on Palestinian suffering.
He invited Robert Kraft to match his donation. pic.twitter.com/KG2SBMwyGH
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 16, 2026
He said the organizations would work directly with Palestinians and provide relief efforts in Gaza. Macklemore also highlighted Palestinian parents taking children to hospitals without adequate medical resources, along with physicians, paramedics, journalists, aid workers and activists working amid the crisis.
“Palestinian lives are worth protecting,” he wrote, adding that his focus would remain on Palestinian freedom and dignity. He also said Palestinians had lived for decades without basic rights and “should not have to wait another day to be free.”
Kraft later announced a $2 million commitment to humanitarian efforts in the region after Sheeran asked him to contribute. He did not specify which organizations would receive the money.
The donation comes after Macklemore was removed from the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s tour. During a Sept. 4 performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, he called for a “free Palestine” and said he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
He reiterated his position during his next performance, rejecting the idea that criticism of Israel or opposition to genocide and apartheid constituted criticism of Jewish people. The Israeli American Council subsequently launched a petition calling for his removal from the tour.
Sheeran said he had agreed to Macklemore joining the tour and respected him as an artist, but that the decision to remove him was ultimately made by the promoter and venues. According to Sheeran, venues hosting the remaining U.S. dates indicated they would not host the shows if Macklemore remained on the lineup. Sheeran also said he preferred to keep his own concerts politically neutral.
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Kraft had previously confirmed that Macklemore would not perform at Gillette Stadium, citing what he described as the rapper’s recent actions.
The dispute also led other opening acts to withdraw from the remaining tour dates. Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga pulled out, citing solidarity with Macklemore and concerns over political expression and the treatment of Palestinians.
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick also criticized Macklemore’s removal, accusing NFL stadium owners of protecting their financial and institutional interests.
Macklemore’s donation now puts the proceeds from his participation in Sheeran’s tour toward six organizations supporting Palestinians, while his call for Kraft to match the contribution has been followed by Kraft’s separate $2 million humanitarian commitment.
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Did he though? This is his statement: