After being removed from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour amid his public support for Palestinians, the rapper urged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to match the contribution.
Days after being removed from singer Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour over his support for Palestinians, rapper Macklemore has pledged to donate the full $1 million he earned from the tour to organizations aiding Palestinian people.
Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, announced the donation on Instagram on Wednesday. The funds will be distributed among six organizations providing direct support to Palestinians. He also urged billionaire Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, to match the contribution after Kraft confirmed that he had barred Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts.
Macklemore wrote: “Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting. A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth.”
The announcement follows growing controversy over Macklemore’s removal from the tour. On Monday, he said he was dropped from the remaining United States dates after speaking in support of Palestinians during performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
All of the supporting artists scheduled for Sheeran’s upcoming United States Loop Tour dates have now withdrawn in solidarity with Macklemore. Several Irish performers cited their country’s history of occupation when explaining their decisions.
Sheeran has said the final decision to remove Macklemore was made by the tour promoter rather than by him.
Kraft later said he had opposed the rapper’s performance, citing what he described as Macklemore’s history of “antisemitic rhetoric and imagery”.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, Kraft said barring Macklemore from his venue was not intended to diminish the suffering of innocent Palestinians. He argued that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure Hamas’s responsibility.
In a Wednesday statement, Macklemore said he wanted to redirect attention away from himself and the controversy surrounding the tour.
“That is what this has always been about. Not me. Not a tour. Not the headlines or the controversy,” he wrote. “It is about Palestinians’ right to freedom, dignity and safety in their own homeland.”
Macklemore also acknowledged that writing a donation check carried far less risk than the work undertaken by people in Gaza and those organizing in support of Palestinians.
“Writing a check is one of the least costly forms of solidarity available to me,” he wrote. “I am doing it because I can, and because these organizations are doing the work while much of the world debates it.”
He concluded by urging people to remain engaged even after public attention shifts.
“When the news cycle moves on, which it will, don’t move with it. Free Palestine.”
