Macklemore donates the million dollars from Ed Sheeran's tour after being dropped over his pro-Palestine speeches

The rapper Macklemore has announced that he will donate the one million dollars from his net earnings from the tour with Ed Sheeran to six organizations that directly support the Palestinian people . A decision that comes after intense controversy in which the artist was removed from the tour for his pro-Palestine speeches on stage.

To understand the origin of the conflict, we have to go back to his opening performances on September 4 and 5 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where the artist exclaimed "Free Palestine!" and displayed the Palestinian flag. This provoked the reaction of billionaire Robert Kraft (owner of the stadium and the Kraft business group), who pressured, along with other venue managers, to veto him , threatening to cancel the shows if he remained on the lineup. Under the pressure, the promoter decided to exclude him.

Macklemore's move has caused a domino effect on Ed Sheeran's tour

For his part, Ed Sheeran claimed that he preferred to remain neutral on political matters and that the final decision depends on contracts with promoters and venues. However, the rapper's expulsion has caused a domino effect on his tour. And also leaving the tour were the opening acts Finneas (musician, producer and Billie Eilish's brother), the Danish band Lukas Graham, artist Aaron Rowe and the Irish group Beoga .

Upon announcing the donation of his one million dollars, Macklemore publicly challenged Robert Kraft to match the amount on the grounds that "Palestinian lives deserve to be protected." “I will continue supporting the Palestinian people and their struggle for liberation” , he said.

Surprisingly, Kraft took up the gauntlet and announced that he will donate two million dollars to combat the humanitarian crisis in Gaza . The magnate said that this amount had already been suggested to him by Ed Sheeran himself before the public challenge to help mitigate the emergency in the region.