Macklemore has pledged his net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six Palestinian relief organisations after being removed from the line-up following pro-Palestinian comments made on stage at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
The Grammy-winning rapper said the donation, worth about $1 million, was intended to “bring the conversation back to where it belongs” — the Palestinian people. Four supporting acts also withdrew from the tour in solidarity during a 48-hour period marked by confusion over who was responsible for his removal.
The recipients include Medical Aid for Palestinians, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, UNRWA and Anera. Leaders of the organisations said the pledge would provide valuable funding while drawing renewed attention to the conditions facing Palestinians.
Alicia Phillips Mandaville, Anera’s acting chief executive, said: “Even if you don’t see bombs falling every night, the rubble is still there. And the traumatized children are still traumatized.”
Palestinian charities welcome renewed attention
Tareq Hailat, director of strategic engagement at the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, said his organisation continued to receive calls from people in Gaza who were “bleeding and asking for help”.
“There’s this notion that there’s a ceasefire. But it’s not true. There are children dying every single day. There’s our team that is constantly in danger on the ground every single day. There’s people we have to feed,” he said.
He added: “So to have this attention on it is incredible.”
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund medically evacuates children who cannot receive treatment because of Gaza’s damaged healthcare system and brings doctors from outside the territory to treat patients there. Hailat said Macklemore’s donation would go into an unrestricted fund, allowing the charity to direct it according to changing needs.
Anera said its share also came without restrictions. Ms Mandaville said that flexibility would allow it to respond to circumstances including flooding, hunger and the need for blankets.
The charities’ comments came as Israeli operations were reported to have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians since a fragile ceasefire took effect last October. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank were also struggling to access healthcare, while shortages of water and food continued in Gaza.
Macklemore donations prompt further gifts
The rapper has previously supported Palestinian causes, pledging proceeds and streaming royalties from his protest songs “Hind’s Hall” and “Hind’s Hall 2” to UNRWA. Mara Kronenfeld, chief executive of UNRWA USA, said those royalties had generated more than $509,000.
The latest pledge has prompted further donations. Ms Rachel, the YouTube star and music teacher, said she would give $1 million to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and urged others to match it.
Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and the Kraft Group, said he would match Sheeran’s own $2 million donation for aid “in the region”. His post did not specify which organisations would receive the money.
Macklemore has alleged that his removal was the result of an effort led by Mr Kraft. Mr Kraft said the decision followed the rapper’s recent comments and what he described as a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery. Macklemore has said criticism of the Israeli government should not be conflated with antisemitism.
Online progressive influencers have raised more than $72,000 for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, while Anera said donations made through social media on Wednesday were more than three times its daily average for the month.
Anera also gained more than 8,000 followers after Macklemore tagged it in his post. Ms Mandaville said the exposure could introduce younger audiences to the charity’s work, adding: “I would guess that our traditional donor does not know the lyrics to ‘Thrift Shop’.”
UNRWA USA said it had gained 203,000 donors since October 2023 and sent more than $117 million. Ms Kronenfeld said the continuing contributions showed that Americans cared and would increase further after what she called Macklemore’s “extremely humane gesture”.
