Four tour support acts quit in solidarity with Macklemore

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Wednesday that Ed Sheeran had asked him to commit $2 million to “aid in the region,” announcing the pledge hours after rapper Macklemore publicly challenged him to match a separate $1 million donation to Palestinian organizations. Kraft, who is Jewish, confirmed Monday that he had Macklemore dropped from Sheeran’s forthcoming Loop Tour at Gillette Stadium near Boston, accusing the rapper of hate speech.

In his Wednesday statement, Kraft, 85, did not specify where exactly the $2 million would go, saying only that the funds were intended “to fight this humanitarian crisis.” The statement, issued by Gillette Stadium on Kraft’s behalf, came hours after Macklemore’s Wednesday public challenge.

“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,” Kraft said in the statement. “Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges.”

In the same statement, Kraft said he would like those speaking in support of the Palestinian people to know that he has long “supported efforts that create opportunity for Palestinians.” He said he has worked to bring “young Palestinians and Israelis together to build businesses, create jobs, and forge relationships.”

“I have dedicated much of my life to building bridges between all people,” Kraft said. “I believe deeply that all lives are worth protecting.” The Kraft Group chairman did not say whether he had rallied other stadium owners to ban Macklemore from their venues, as the rapper has claimed.

Sheeran, who performed at Kraft’s 2022 wedding, said Tuesday the decision to drop Macklemore was made by tour promoters and that he would not be drawn into a public debate over Gaza.

Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, called for a “free Palestine” and showed images of devastation in Gaza during two Sheeran concerts in New Jersey earlier this month. He was dropped on Monday from Sheeran’s line-up, just days before the tour was set to resume in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

On Wednesday, Macklemore said he would donate the entire $1 million of his net earnings from the Loop Tour to six Palestinian organizations “to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people.” “This is a manmade injustice, and I believe it requires immediate political change,” he wrote on social media.

Macklemore denies Kraft’s claim that he has a history of antisemitic rhetoric. In his Monday statement, Kraft said his venue would not “provide a platform for hate speech” and accused the rapper of having “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric” and of being “only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas.”

All four of Sheeran’s other support acts have since quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. They are Finneas, the brother of pop star Billie Eilish, Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, Danish band Lukas Graham, and Irish folk band Beoga, who perform with Sheeran on stage every night. The artists argued that Macklemore’s removal represented a chilling effect on free speech.

The Loop Tour is scheduled to resume in Philadelphia on Saturday.