Macklemore donates $1 million after being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour. And he’s calling on Robert Kraft to match it: ‘Perhaps we can agree on this’

Macklemore said on Instagram that he is giving $1 million from his tour pay to groups that aid Palestinians after he was taken off Ed Sheeran’s tour. He said that the amount is all of his net earnings from the dates and that six organizations will receive it. He also asked New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to put up a matching sum.

Macklemore said he wants to “bring the conversation back where it belongs.” “Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protection,” he wrote. “A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any life on this earth.”

Kraft released a statement soon after saying Sheeran had called him before Macklemore posted and asked him to match $2 million for aid in the region. “Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges,” Kraft wrote.

Kraft says Sheeran asked him to match $2 million before Macklemore posted

Kraft’s remarks came two days after Macklemore said he had been cut from Sheeran’s tour when venues warned they might cancel dates over Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian set. This controversy follows Macklemore’s recent performance at MetLife Stadium, where he delivered a free Palestine plea that led to an IAC petition seeking his removal from the tour.  

Macklemore and Sheeran both said that Kraft, one of the owners, had stated that Macklemore would not be allowed at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Macklemore alleged that Kraft “rallied” other stadium owners so they could give Sheeran an ultimatum. Sheeran said in a statement Tuesday that Kraft was among the venue officials who contacted him with concerns about Macklemore’s show. Kraft did not deny that account in comments he gave NBC News.

Kraft said Monday that he was not trying to block Palestinian advocacy or play down Palestinian suffering. He said the choice followed Macklemore’s remarks at the New Jersey tour stops and “a broader history of rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.”

“Much of my time and attention for the last decade has been focused on the fight against antisemitism and hate of all kinds, and I feel a responsibility to stand up when I believe that line has been crossed,” Kraft said. He said he shared Macklemore’s view that there has been too much suffering and that he has spent decades “directing resources” to Palestinians. “Standing with the Palestinian people and standing against Hamas, antisemitism and hate should not be mutually exclusive,” Kraft said.

According to NBC News, trouble started this month after Macklemore opened for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. His stance sparked a petition from the Israeli American Council to have him removed from the tour, as he later doubled down on his plea.  

Ahead of Hind’s Hall, a protest song he put out in 2024, he spoke to the crowd. Video Macklemore posted shows him telling fans that one reason he joined the tour was so he could stand in stadiums and say “Free Palestine.” He also said his criticism of Israel’s government was not aimed at Jewish people.

The clip drew pushback, including from pop star Pink, who is Jewish. Pink issued a statement on Friday explaining why she had shared a post criticizing Macklemore’s set. Pink wrote that she was not trying to get anyone fired or to silence anyone. She said her problem was Macklemore showing “violent images” of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to a stadium full of families, then telling Jewish people in the crowd that “it wasn’t about them.”

Pink also pointed to a 2014 episode in which Macklemore wore a wig, a fake beard, and a hooked nose to the Grammys, a look that appeared to play on antisemitic tropes.

He said then that he thought dressing in disguise would be a fun way to talk with fans. Macklemore later apologized after the stereotype was flagged and said he had spoken with the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL accepted the apology at the time and said it took him “at his word that he did not have any ill intent,” according to The Guardian.

Macklemore named the groups set to get the money as the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, American Near East Refugee Aid and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

He wrote that giving money is the least costly form of solidarity and that he will keep his attention on the Palestinian people. Their right to freedom, dignity, and safety is “what this has always been about,” he said. “When the news cycle moves on, which it will, don’t move with it,” he wrote. “Free Palestine.”