Cinema VinesMacklemore has announced that he will donate the $1 million he was set to earn from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six Palestinian aid organisations, after his performance on the tour was cancelled following his public support for Palestine. The rapper said he wants the controversy to shift from the tour fallout to the humanitarian crisis affecting Palestinians, writing that he “want[s] 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 donation will be split among the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Heal Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, UNRWA USA National Committee and Anera. Macklemore added that he is using his platform to help groups working on the ground and that he calls on New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to match his contribution, saying, “Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting. A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth.”
Robert Kraft, who confirmed that Macklemore would not perform at Gillette Stadium, earlier cited the rapper’s “recent actions” and a “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery” that he said was offensive to the Jewish community. In response to Macklemore’s request, Kraft said Ed Sheeran had contacted him before the announcement and that he would commit $2 million toward humanitarian aid in the region, though he did not specify which organisations would receive the money or confirm a direct match of Macklemore’s donation.
The removal of Macklemore from the Loop Tour began after he spoke in support of Palestine during a September 4 performance. The rapper’s statement and subsequent donation come amid heightened scrutiny of artists’ political statements and the broader debate over the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
