Macklemore Pledges $1M Tour Earnings to Palestinian Aid, Challenges Kraft to Match

This article has been updated with a response from Robert Kraft.

Earlier this week, Macklemore was removed as an opener for Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour following an onstage call for a free Palestine. The rapper has now pledged to donate $1 million of his net tour earnings to six Palestinian aid organizations. “I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom,” Macklemore stated on Instagram.

The Ben artist also invited Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, to match his donation. The funds will be distributed among HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, American Near East Refugee Aid, Medical Aid for Palestinians, and the UNRWA U.S.A. National Committee. Macklemore has accused Kraft of pressuring Sheeran to remove him by threatening to pull shows at Gillette and urging other venue owners to follow suit.

“Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,” Macklemore’s statement continued. “A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth. That is what this has always been about.” In a response shared today, Kraft stated that prior to Macklemore’s challenge, Sheeran had requested Kraft “commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis. Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges.” Pitchfork has contacted representatives for both Kraft and Sheeran for comment.

In a previous statement to NBC News, Kraft confirmed his role in Macklemore’s removal. “Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line,” he wrote.

Sheeran offered his own account, stating that the decision to remove Macklemore “was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine.” He added: “I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.”

Following Macklemore’s removal, the remaining three opening acts—Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe—along with Sheeran’s backing band Beoga, have all withdrawn in solidarity. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a founding organization of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement, has also urged Sheeran to cancel the tour entirely.

Full statements from Macklemore and Robert Kraft are included below.

Macklemore:

In light of recent events over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom.

I will be donating the entire $1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations directly supporting the Palestinian people. I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation. 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.

Source link