Macklemore pledges $1m in tour earnings to Palestinian groups

What the report says

Rapper Macklemore said he will donate the $1 million he earned from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organisations supporting Palestinians, according to Al Jazeera. The announcement came on Instagram on Wednesday, days after he said he was removed from the remaining US dates of the tour following his pro-Palestine comments during performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Al Jazeera reported that Macklemore, whose legal name is Ben Haggerty, used the post to argue that Palestinian lives should be protected and to shift attention away from the dispute over the tour. He also challenged Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, to match the donation after Kraft said he blocked Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. Kraft has said his objection was based on what he called the rapper’s history of antisemitic rhetoric, while Macklemore’s statement focused on Palestinian rights and support for people in Gaza.

The report said the fallout has spread beyond one cancelled performance. All of Sheeran’s supporting acts for the upcoming US tour have now withdrawn in solidarity with Macklemore, and Sheeran said the decision to remove him was made by the tour promoter rather than by him directly. The episode underscores how artists’ public positions on the Israel-Palestine war continue to affect live music bookings and touring partnerships.