Macklemore Pledges $1 Million Ed Sheeran Tour Salary to Palestine Relief

American rapper Macklemore has announced that he will donate his entire $1 million salary earned as an opening act on Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour to six organizations providing direct support to Palestinian people and relief efforts in Gaza, according to The Guardian. The Grammy-winning artist also challenged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to match the contribution (The Guardian).

Macklemore Pledges $1 Million Tour Salary to Relief Efforts After Being Dropped by Ed Sheeran

Stadium Bans, Venue Pressures, and Robert Kraft’s Response

According to Sheeran, venue owners including billionaire New England Patriots owner and Israel donor Robert Kraft informed the English singer that the tour would be barred from playing their stadiums if Macklemore remained on the bill (The Guardian). Kraft stated on Monday that his decision to ban the rapper from Gillette Stadium outside Boston stemmed from Macklemore’s “recent actions” and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community (The Guardian).

Macklemore Pledges $1 Million Ed Sheeran Tour Salary to Palestine Relief — Photo: aol.co.uk

Following his removal, Macklemore addressed an audience onstage the next day, stating: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you (The Guardian). In his Wednesday Instagram announcement regarding the $1 million donation, he wrote: With everything that has happened 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 (The Guardian).

Support Acts Withdraw in Solidarity

Ed Sheeran issued a statement Tuesday morning explaining his desire to remain publicly neutral, stating that his audiences include children of all backgrounds who do not expect a political forum. Sheeran noted that while he disagreed with Macklemore, he respected the rapper’s strength of purpose.

Within a day of Macklemore’s removal, all remaining opening acts and supporting performers for the Loop tour withdrew in solidarity (The Guardian, Daily Mail). The departing acts include:

Finneas (The Guardian)
Aaron Rowe (The Guardian)
Beoga (The Guardian)
Lukas Graham (The Guardian)
Myles Smith (Daily Mail)

Aaron Rowe stated he could not continue on a tour where billionaires silence voices speaking up against genocide, while Lukas Graham frontman Lukas Forchhammer emphasized that money should not dictate who is allowed to speak. Political activist Billy Bragg subsequently suggested Sheeran cancel the remainder of the tour (Daily Mail), while figures including Lewis Hamilton and Colin Kaepernick voiced support for Macklemore (Daily Mail, AOL).