Macklemore is challenging Robert Kraft to put his money where his mouth is amid the controversy surrounding Ed Sheeran‘s Loop Tour and the “Free Palestine” debate.
The rapper spoke out once again Wednesday (Sept. 16) after a two-day frenzy that saw every single one of Sheeran’s tour openers pulling out of Loop in solidarity with Palestinians and with Macklemore, who was dropped from the trek over his onstage protests earlier in the month against the violence in Gaza. “With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs,” he wrote.
“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,” he continued. “And I invite Robert Kraft” — the billionaire who allegedly rallied other Loop Tour venue owners to get Macklemore dropped from the bill — “to match my donation.”
“Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,” the Seattle native added. “A Palestinian life is no less valuable than another life on this earth.”
Billboard has reached out to Kraft and Sheeran’s reps for comment.
Macklemore’s call to action comes after he first named Kraft in a statement claiming that the businessman had threatened to cancel the upcoming Loop shows at Gillette Stadium, which is owned by Kraft Group, unless Sheeran’s team dropped the hip-hop star from the bill. Macklemore also alleged that Kraft had spoken on behalf of other stadium owners, who gave the British pop singer similar ultimatums.
“Ed was in a f–ked up position,” Macklemore wrote. “He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before.”
On Monday (Sept. 14), the trek’s U.S. promoter, Messina Touring Group, announced: “We have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
The following day, Kraft issued a statement, in which he explained that he’d made the call in order to prevent Gillette from being used as “a platform for hate speech,” while also acknowledging “the suffering of innocent Palestinians … their pain and loss are real.”
“Advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community,” Kraft had also written. “I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same – peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.”
The organizations to which Macklemore will donate his tour earnings include Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, the UNRWA USA National Committee and Anera.
“Writing a check is one of the least costly forms of solidarity available to me,” the musician wrote in his Wednesday call to action. “I am doing it because I can, and because these organizations are doing the work while much of the world debates it … When the news cycle moves on, which it will, don’t move with it. Free Palestine.”
“Free Palestine” were initially the words that started the debacle in the first place, along with Macklemore’s performance of his protest anthem “Hind’s Hall” alongside images of the violence in Gaza at Sheeran’s shows at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sept. 4 and 5. In the 2024 track, the rapper asserts that Israel has been committing genocide against Palestinian people over the past three years, sparked by the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.
The United Nations has also classified Israel’s actions as genocide, but Israel and the United States, which are allies, have denied this. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 73,000 Palestinians had died in Israel’s repeated strikes as of July, and countless others continue to face hunger and homelessness.
After Macklemore made his statement about being dropped from the tour, Sheeran confirmed that he had been part of discussions with Kraft and other venue owners about the decision, but emphasized that ultimately, Messina Touring Group had been the party responsible for dismissing Macklemore.
“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” Sheeran wrote in a Tuesday (Sept. 15) statement. “Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me.”
Sheeran also said at the time that he would “never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living.” Within hours, however, all of the remaining support acts referenced by Sheeran — Aaron Rowe, Finneas and Lukas Graham — had dropped out, each posting statements backing up Macklemore’s stance in support of Palestinians.
See Macklemore’s post below.
