Entertainment18 September, 20262 min read
Robert Kraft Says Ed Sheeran Asked Him To Donate $2 Million After Macklemore Removed
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Sheeran asked Kraft to donate $2 million to aid in the region, matching Macklemore. Macklemore donated $1 million of his earnings to Palestinian relief after removal.
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Donation Challenge Escalates
Robert Kraft said Ed Sheeran asked him to commit $2 million to match Macklemore’s $1 million donation to “aid in the region” after Macklemore was removed from Sheeran’s tour. Kraft wrote that “Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges,” and he added that he would like people supporting Palestinians to know he has “supported efforts that create opportunity for Palestinians.”
Macklemore said he would donate the entire $1 million of his net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support Palestinians, and he wrote that “A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth.” Macklemore also invited Kraft to match his donation, and Kraft did not confirm whether he had agreed to make the $2 million donation or where the funds would go.
Tour Fallout and Public Statements
Kraft said he banned Macklemore from performing during Sheeran’s forthcoming shows at Gillette Stadium near Boston, after Kraft accused the rapper of hate speech during two previous support slots where Macklemore called for “free Palestine” on stage. Sheeran said the decision to drop Macklemore was made by his promoters, Messina Touring Group, and Kraft’s statement said the Gillette Stadium decision was tied to comments Kraft described as “a broader history of rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.”
Macklemore said he was removed from the tour after performing his pro-Palestinian song “Hind’s Hall” at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and he said Kraft made it a condition that he could not perform at the venue if he remained on the tour. Sheeran appeared affected during his Philadelphia show last weekend, breaking into tears as he spoke to his fans, while the controversy continued to draw criticism for Sheeran’s refusal to take a side on genocide.
Protests and Wider Mobilization
Massachusetts Peace Action (MAPA) planned a pro-Palestinian protest outside Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, before Sheeran’s second show at the stadium this weekend.
MAPA said the protest would begin at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern Time), an hour before the stadium doors open, and it described the mobilization as “Stop the Madness in Washington,” planned for September 26.
MAPA framed the dispute as “the censorship of billionaires” and the “genocide in Palestine,” and it said the controversy between Sheeran and Macklemore connects to what it called the growing power of billionaires and institutions to shape public debate and politics.
The protest was scheduled to add to an earlier one that marked Sheeran’s concert in Philadelphia last weekend, amid the controversy over Macklemore’s departure from the joint tour.