Macklemore has announced that he’ll be donating the $1 million (£750,000) he earned from supporting Ed Sheeran to organisations working to support the Palestinian people.
The rapper was dropped from Sheeran’s US Loop Tour earlier this week after delivering a pro-Palestine political speech on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
On Wednesday, Macklemore posted a lengthy note on social media sharing that he would be donating his net earnings to organisations including Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Heal Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen and Medical Aid for Palestinians, among others.
“With everything that has happened over the past 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,” 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.
“Palestinians have lived for decades without basic rights and should not have to wait another day to be free,” he continued. “That is where my focus will remain. I will continue to stand with the Palestinian people and their fight for liberation. When the news cycle moves on, which it will, don’t move with it. Free Palestine.”
Macklemore’s latest efforts come after a tumultuous few days for Sheeran, who released a statement on Tuesday morning sharing that he had nothing to do with Macklemore’s dismissal from his tour and that he preferred to remain neutral when it came to political causes.
All the remaining supporting acts on the Loop tour – Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Beoga – announced that they were dropping out in solidarity with Macklemore and the Palestinian people.
