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Macklemore to donate 1 million dollar Ed Sheeran tour earnings to Palestine
Macklemore says he will donate his 1 million dollars net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organisations supporting Palestinians.
Macklemore says he will donate the entire 1 million dollars in net earnings he received from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to organisations supporting Palestinians, days after he was removed from the tour following his public comments in support of Palestine.
The rapper announced the donation on Wednesday, September 16, saying the money would go to six organisations working on humanitarian and relief efforts. He also challenged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium, to match the donation.
“With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs,” Macklemore wrote in a statement shared on social media. He said his focus was on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and announced that he would donate his “entire 1 million dollars” in net earnings from the tour.
Which organisations will receive Macklemore’s 1 million dollars?
Macklemore said the donation will be split between six organisations: the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency USA National Committee and Anera.
He said the decision was intended to shift attention back to Palestinians affected by the ongoing conflict and to organisations providing assistance on the ground.
“I will be donating the entire 1 million dollars of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organisations working directly to support the Palestinian people,” Macklemore wrote.
He also invited Kraft to match his contribution. “Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,” he wrote.
Why was Macklemore removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour?
The donation comes after Macklemore was dropped from the remaining US dates of Sheeran’s Loop Tour earlier this week.
The decision followed Macklemore’s appearance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month, where he spoke in support of Palestinians, said “Free Palestine” and performed Hind’s Hall, a song about pro-Palestinian protests and the war in Gaza.
Several venues subsequently said they would not allow Macklemore to perform as part of the tour. The promoter, Messina Touring Group, confirmed that venues had raised concerns about having him on the bill.
Sheeran later said the decision was not his. The singer said he had spoken to venue owners and tried to find a way to keep Macklemore on the tour but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Kraft separately defended Macklemore’s exclusion from Gillette Stadium, citing what he described as the rapper’s recent actions and a broader history of rhetoric and imagery he said had been offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.
Macklemore, meanwhile, has said he intends to continue speaking about Palestine.
Macklemore says donation is about keeping attention on Palestine
In his latest statement, Macklemore acknowledged that donating the money was relatively easy compared with the risks faced by people directly affected by the conflict.
“I want to center the parents carrying their children into hospitals without the basic resources to treat them, and the physicians, paramedics, journalists and aid workers who keep going back in,” he wrote.
He also said he wanted to highlight activists and organisers who have faced consequences for supporting Palestine.
Macklemore described the donation as “one of the least costly forms of solidarity available” to him, adding that he was making it because he could and because the organisations receiving the money were continuing their work.
He also argued that humanitarian aid alone cannot resolve the political circumstances that create the need for it, while reiterating his support for Palestinian freedom.
Ed Sheeran’s other opening acts also leave tour
Macklemore’s departure has had a wider impact on Sheeran’s tour. Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Beoga, who were among the tour’s supporting acts, have all announced their departures following the controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal.
The developments have left the Loop Tour facing a significant reshuffle as its remaining dates continue.
He ended his statement by urging people not to let the issue disappear once media attention moves elsewhere. “I will continue to stand with the Palestinian people and their fight for liberation,” Macklemore wrote.