Rapper Macklemore has committed to donating $1 million earned from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations providing direct aid to Palestinians. The announcement follows his removal from the remainder of the US leg of the tour due to his public support for Palestine.
Ben Haggerty, known professionally as Macklemore, revealed the donation on Instagram on Wednesday. He also issued a challenge to billionaire Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, to match the contribution. Kraft had previously confirmed that he barred Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, citing concerns over the artist’s historical use of what he described as antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.
“Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,” Macklemore wrote. “A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth.”
The move comes as backlash against the rapper’s dismissal intensifies. All supporting acts for Sheeran’s upcoming US Loop Tour have withdrawn in solidarity with Macklemore. Several Irish artists cited their own nation’s history of occupation as a motivation for their decision to pull out.
Ed Sheeran has stated that the choice to drop Macklemore was made by the tour promoter rather than himself. Meanwhile, Kraft argued in a statement to Al Jazeera that banning the rapper from his venue was not an attempt to diminish Palestinian suffering, but rather a stance that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibilities of Hamas.
In his latest statement, Macklemore sought to shift focus away from the personal controversy and back to the humanitarian crisis. “That is what this has always been about. Not me. Not a tour. Not the headlines or the controversy,” he wrote. “It is about Palestinians’ right to freedom, dignity and safety in their own homeland.”
He acknowledged that writing a check was “one of the least costly forms of solidarity available to me,” noting that the individuals working in Gaza and organizing support face far greater risks. He concluded by urging followers to remain engaged even after the news cycle moves on, adding, “Free Palestine.”
Six organizations is good, but isn’t direct aid to Gaza currently extremely difficult to distribute safely?
It’s brave to risk your career for a cause you believe in, even if the approach is controversial.
Wow, I had no idea all the supporting acts pulled out in solidarity. That’s quite a statement.
I respect the solidarity, yet I question whether money alone addresses the root causes of this conflict.
Generous gesture, but challenging a billionaire to match feels like a distraction from the real humanitarian crisis.