Macklemore Pledges $1M Tour Salary to Palestine After Being Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour
Rapper Macklemore announced on September 16, 2026, that he will donate his entire $1m earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations supporting Palestinians. The pledge follows his recent removal from the tour’s United States dates after he voiced support for Palestine during performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, sparking fallout.
Million-Dollar Palestinian Relief Pledge Follows Tour Ouster
According to Al Jazeera, the rapper—whose legal name is Ben Haggerty—used his Instagram account on Wednesday to detail the allocation of the funds to groups working directly on the ground in the region. In the same announcement, Macklemore challenged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to match the donation.
Gillette Stadium Ban And Kraft’s Antisemitism Claims
Kraft confirmed on Tuesday that he had barred Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. In a statement reported by Al Jazeera, Kraft defended the venue’s decision by citing what he described as the rapper’s history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery, while emphasizing that the ban was not intended to diminish the suffering of innocent Palestinians. Kraft noted that Sheeran had previously contacted him to ask for a $2m commitment in regional humanitarian aid, and that the headliner now plans to approach other venue operators to secure additional funding.
Solidarity Walkouts And Irish Support Acts Withdraw
The controversy has fundamentally disrupted the tour’s support lineup. As The Guardian and Al Jazeera report, all supporting acts scheduled for Sheeran’s US dates have withdrawn in solidarity with Macklemore. Several of the departing musicians are Irish, explicitly pointing to their nation’s own history of occupation when explaining their decisions to pull out of the bill.
Crisis PR and Legal Realities Behind the Headlines
Shifting Focus From Personal Headlines To Action
Addressing the broader discourse surrounding the tour, Macklemore emphasized that his financial contribution aims to refocus attention away from personal headlines.
“Writing a check is one of the least costly forms of solidarity available to me,” he wrote, as quoted by Al Jazeera. “I am doing it because I can, and because these organizations are doing the work while much of the world debates it.”
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