Shortly after Macklemore revealed that he’s donating $1 million to support Palestinian people, in addition to inviting billionaire Robert Kraft to match his donation, the Gillette Stadium owner has replied.
Kraft wrote in a statement on X Wednesday afternoon that he plans “to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis.”
“I have dedicated much of my life to building bridges between all people. I believe deeply that all lives are worth protecting,” the New England Patriots owner said. “Earlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis. Ed has plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges.”
This came after The Hollywood Reporter learned earlier this week that Macklemore was dropped as an opener for Ed Sheeran‘s Loop Tour after making headlines for his pro-Palestine speeches during his performances. The tour promoter stated that upcoming venues hosting shows threatened to pull out if Macklemore remained on the lineup.
In response to being dropped from the tour, Macklemore alleged that Kraft “rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.” Sheeran’s tour was slated to play at Kraft’s Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts at the end of September.
Kraft defended his decision, writing in his own statement at the time, “Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech. Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.”
Amid the fallout, Finneas, Danish pop band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe, who were all expected to open for Sheeran on tour, have since dropped out in solidarity with Macklemore.
Sheeran also reiterated in his own statement, “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Macklemore announced that he was donating $1 million of his net earnings from Sheeran’s Loop Tour to organizations working to help Palestinian people.
“With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want 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 rapper wrote in a lengthy statement on Instagram. “I will be donating the entire $1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people. And 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 another life on this earth.”
“That is what this has always been about. Not me. Not a tour. Not the headlines or the controversy,” Macklemore added. “It is about Palestinians rights to freedom, dignity and safety in their own homeland.”