Macklemore pledges $1M to Palestinian relief, invites Kraft to match
MacklemoreMusician; central figure in this dispute
Macklemore pledged $1 million — the entirety of his net earnings from Ed Sheeran's tour — to six organizations supporting Palestinians, and invited Robert Kraft to match the donation.
“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. 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 any other life on this earth.”
Original post
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech and removal from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour
At two Ed Sheeran concerts at MetLife Stadium, Macklemore called for a free Palestine, accused Israel of apartheid and genocide, and said criticism of Israel was not criticism of Jewish people. After venue objections, tour promoter Messina Touring Group said he would not perform the remaining U.S. Loop Tour dates. Critics characterized the performance as hostile or inappropriate; Macklemore defended it as a call for equal treatment.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Macklemore’s own first-party post. Slide 1 of the carousel carries the full written statement; the caption lists the six recipient organizations by Instagram handle. This is the primary record for the pledge, which the case previously quoted through a wire report. Note that the named recipient is UNRWA USA, the U.S. national committee, rather than UNRWA itself.
Reporting
About this source
NBC News report (via NBC Chicago, byline Doha Madani) on Macklemore's $1M Palestinian-relief pledge and invitation to Robert Kraft to match it, and Kraft's response statement (issued via the Gillette Stadium X account) describing a $2M match coordinated with Ed Sheeran.
Before the quotation
In an Instagram carousel two days after being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour, Macklemore said he wanted to “bring the conversation back to where it belongs.” The post’s caption names the six recipient organizations.
After the quotation
Kraft released a statement shortly after, saying he had been contacted by Ed Sheeran to arrange a $2 million match.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Macklemore reframes the dispute around a shared concern for Palestinian lives and commits his tour earnings to Palestinian relief organizations, extending and defending his original pro-Palestinian advocacy rather than retracting or moderating it.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Robert Kraft
Corrections to this statement
These notices document reporting corrections, classification changes, and topic-label updates.
Reporting correction
Correction to: Statement by Macklemore
- Previous language
- Quotation as published: “Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protection. A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any life on this earth.” Context before, as published: “In an Instagram post two days after being dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour, Macklemore said he wanted to "bring the conversation back where it belongs."”
- Corrected language
- Quotation, corrected to the wording in Macklemore’s own post: “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.” The recorded quotation now also carries the two preceding paragraphs of the statement. Context before, corrected: the statement appears on slide 1 of an Instagram carousel, and Macklemore said he wanted to “bring the conversation back to where it belongs.”
The quotation was taken from a wire report rather than from Macklemore’s own post, and differed from his wording in two places: “worth protection” for “worth protecting,” and “no less valuable than any life” for “no less valuable than any other life.” A paraphrase in the surrounding context also dropped the word “to.” Macklemore’s Instagram post has been added as the primary source and the quotation now matches it. The substance of the pledge is unchanged.
This corrects our account of what happened.
Macklemore’s own first-party post. Slide 1 of the carousel carries the full written statement; the caption lists the six recipient organizations by Instagram handle. This is the primary record for the pledge, which the case previously quoted through a wire report. Note that the named recipient is UNRWA USA, the U.S. national committee, rather than UNRWA itself.
NBC News report (via NBC Chicago, byline Doha Madani) on Macklemore's $1M Palestinian-relief pledge and invitation to Robert Kraft to match it, and Kraft's response statement (issued via the Gillette Stadium X account) describing a $2M match coordinated with Ed Sheeran.
More from this case
Read the full caseMacklemore says the "billionaire class" should not decide "which voices are allowed on stage"
“What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage. When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention. So we're going on tour. All proceeds will benefit organizations supporting the Palestinian people and movement.”Read statement
Jewish Voice for Peace says the backlash to Macklemore's removal shows support for pro-Palestine speech
Jewish Voice for Peace
“Two years into Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestine organizing, the backlash against Sheeran shows how little patience Americans have for attacks on pro-Palestine speech. It also demonstrates the shift toward support for Palestinian rights among everyday Americans that our movements have helped propel.”Read statement
Macklemore announces "Free Palestine Tour" after removal from U.S. dates
“To push back when the call for a Free Palestine is met with attempts to silence it.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Macklemore pledges $1M to Palestinian relief, invites Kraft to match
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/800-macklemore-pledged-1-million-the-entirety-of-his
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Macklemore pledges $1M to Palestinian relief, invites Kraft to match". First published: 2026-09-17. Last updated: 2026-09-17. https://disputeindex.com/events/800-macklemore-pledged-1-million-the-entirety-of-his