Macklemore vs. Robert Kraft Heats Up With Dueling Donations

After Macklemore loudly challenges Robert Kraft to match his $1 million donation to support Palestine, Robert Kraft reveals that he and Ed Sheeran had already quietly donated four times that sum a day earlier.

As the Ed Sheeran tour controversy continued to intensify this week, Macklemore revealed a plan to donate $1 million to aid the Palestinian people and challenged billionaire Robert Kraft to match his donation. Now, the Gillette Stadium owner has issued a response.

In a statement posted to X (Twitter) on Wednesday afternoon, Kraft wrote that Ed Sheeran had earlier asked him to match a $2 million donation to aid in the region “to fight this humanitarian crisis.” Neither had revealed the plans previously, preferring to issue the donations in private.

“I have dedicated much of my life to building bridges between all people. I believe deeply that all lives are worth protecting,” Kraft wrote. “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.”

The news follows Macklemore’s removal as the opener for the remaining U.S. dates on Sheeran’s Loop Tour after his controversial pro-Palestine speeches during his performances in New Jersey. Venues hosting shows threatened to pull out altogether if Macklemore remained on the lineup, and the tour promoter made the decision to oust him.

Macklemore released a statement claiming that Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium, had “rallied some of the other stadium owners, and collectively they gave [Sheeran] an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.” The tour is scheduled to play at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts later this month.

Kraft responded with a statement confirming Macklemore’s claims and defending his decision, writing that “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.”

But no sooner had Macklemore been removed from the tour than Finneas, Danish pop band Lukas Graham, and Irish singer Aaron Rowe—all slated to open for Sheeran on future dates—as well as Sheeran’s own touring band announced their withdrawal from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.

On Wednesday, Macklemore said he would be donating $1 million of his net earnings from Sheeran’s tour to organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people.