Ed Sheeran backlash: Billionaire says musician asked him to donate $2M

American rapper Macklemore has announced that he will donate the entirety of the $1 million earnings from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour to six organizations that support Palestinians. In an Instagram post, Macklemore expressed his desire to support parents carrying their children into hospitals due to lack of basic resources, as well as the medical professionals, emergency responders, journalists, and aid workers who continue to operate in the region.

Macklemore stated that writing a check is one of the most accessible ways to show solidarity, and he is donating because he can and because these organizations are actively working while the rest of the world debates the issue. He pledged to continue standing with the Palestinian people and their fight for liberation.

On September 4th, during an opening performance, Macklemore delivered a two-minute speech advocating for "Free Palestine" before performing his pro-Palestine anthem, "Hind's Hall," named after a five-year-old Palestinian boy who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2024. This speech garnered both praise and criticism from various political perspectives.

In response, the pro-Israeli group Israeli American Council (IAC) initiated a petition urging Ed Sheeran to remove Macklemore as his opening act from future tour dates. In a detailed statement released on Monday, Macklemore clarified that "Ed Sheeran and his team" ultimately made the decision to remove him from the tour after billionaire Robert Kraft and other stadium owners threatened Sheeran with exclusion from their venues unless he removed Macklemore from future performances.