Macklemore says he is giving away every dollar he earned from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour — and he has invited the man he blames for getting him removed from it to do the same.
In a statement posted to social media on Wednesday afternoon, the rapper said he would donate “the entire $1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people.” He then addressed New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft directly: “I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation. 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.”
Macklemore did not name the six organizations. He framed the money as a redirection rather than a gesture, telling followers he wanted to “bring the conversation back to where it belongs,” and warning them that “when the news cycle moves on, which it will, don’t move with it.” He also argued that money alone is not the answer, calling the situation in Gaza “a manmade injustice” that “requires immediate political change.”
The donation closes a fortnight that has cost Macklemore eight stadium shows, cost Sheeran his entire support bill, and turned a pop tour into one of the loudest arguments in American music.
How two words emptied a stadium tour
Macklemore joined the US leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour with back-to-back shows at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and 5. During the first set he told the crowd that a big part of why he wanted the tour was so he could “stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine.'” He also called ICE a “terrorist organization” and played footage from Gaza behind his protest song “Hind’s Hall,” according to The Music Universe. At the second show he added a caveat aimed at critics: “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you.”
The response was immediate. Pro-Israel groups including StopAntisemitism campaigned for his removal, and P!nk amplified some of the criticism before clarifying that she had “never asked for another artist to be silenced.”
On September 14, promoter Messina Touring Group confirmed he was off the bill. In a statement given to Rolling Stone, the company said venues on the upcoming dates “will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.” He had been scheduled for eight of the final ten US shows.
Two accounts of the same phone call
This is where the versions diverge, and the gap between them is the story’s real fault line.
Macklemore’s account, published in full by Exclaim!, is that Sheeran told him Kraft had called about the Gillette Stadium dates, said Macklemore would not be allowed to perform there, and had “rallied some of the other stadium owners” into a collective ultimatum: if Macklemore stayed on the tour, Sheeran would lose access to their venues. Macklemore said Sheeran had been put in an impossible position and could not get past his long-standing refusal to take sides. He also suggested the scale was the problem rather than the sentiment: “What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now?”
Kraft’s statement to Consequence confirms he blocked Macklemore from the September 25 and 26 Gillette shows, citing the venue’s policy against providing “a platform for hate speech,” Macklemore’s remarks in New Jersey, and what Kraft called “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.” But Kraft’s statement addresses only his own stadium. It does not confirm Macklemore’s claim that he coordinated other owners, and Kraft has not publicly responded to that specific allegation.
Kraft also rejected the idea that the decision was about Palestinians. “This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians,” he wrote. “Their pain and loss are real.” He said Macklemore’s framing ignored the role of Hamas, noted that he has “directed resources to Palestine” over several decades, and closed by offering to meet: “I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts.”
Sheeran, for his part, has said the call was not his to make. He told fans the decision “was not mine” and that he had spent the week “trying to build bridges,” while insisting he was not complicit. That has not settled the matter — Canadian broadcaster CBC has since reported that Sheeran consulted Kraft about Macklemore, a framing that puts him closer to the decision than his own statement suggests.
What is left of the tour
The practical damage is now visible on the bill itself. Sheeran’s remaining opening acts — FINNEAS, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe — withdrew in support of Macklemore, and his backing band Beoga also stepped away, as reported by Consequence. MassLive and Yahoo both reported on Wednesday that the tour has lost every remaining support act ahead of the Gillette dates.
The tour resumes Friday, September 19 in Philadelphia. The two Gillette Stadium shows at the center of all of this are still scheduled for September 25 and 26. Kraft has not said whether he will match the million.
