Macklemore Gives His $1 Million Ed Sheeran Tour Fee to Palestinian Aid

• Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour on Sept. 14 after saying “Free Palestine” onstage at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 4 and 5.
• He is donating the $1 million he earned on the U.S. run to six humanitarian organizations, and challenged Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft to match it. Kraft announced $2 million.
• All four remaining opening acts — Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga — quit the tour on Sept. 15.

One line from a stadium stage cost Macklemore the rest of the tour, and he is giving away everything the tour paid him.

The rapper, whose name is Ben Haggerty, said “Free Palestine” during his opening set at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sept. 4, then performed “Hind’s Hall.” Ten days later he was off Ed Sheeran‘s Loop Tour.

Why did Ed Sheeran drop Macklemore?

Sheeran says he did not. The removal was announced on Sept. 14 by Messina Touring Group, the tour’s promoter, which said venues would not proceed with Macklemore on the bill.

Sheeran posted a statement the next day. “I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine,” he wrote, calling the suffering on both sides “a human tragedy,” and said the removal was “the promoter’s decision, it was not mine.”

Macklemore’s account is more specific. In a statement of roughly 1,000 words on Instagram, he said Sheeran told him that Kraft “barred him from performing there and persuaded other stadium owners to issue a similar ultimatum.”

Between the two shows and the removal, venue representatives contacted the promoter with concerns and were told Macklemore would not mention Palestine again. On his second night, Sept. 5, he addressed Jewish fans directly: “Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, is in no way a criticism of you.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that Kraft spent about 40 minutes on the phone with Sheeran, joined by fellow NFL owners Arthur Blank, David Tepper and Jeffrey Lurie.

Robert Kraft issued his own statement on Sept. 14. He said Palestinian suffering is real — “Their pain and loss is real” — placed responsibility on Hamas, and offered to meet: “I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts.”

Kraft did not dispute Macklemore’s description of the pressure campaign.

Who actually decides who opens a stadium tour?

Not the headliner, most of the time. This is the part of the story that makes all three statements fit together, and it is worth understanding before deciding who is telling the truth.

A support act’s contract is almost always with the promoter, not with the star whose name is on the ticket. The promoter books the building, sells the show, pays the opener and can replace the opener.

The building is the other lever. A stadium is rented, and the rental agreement gives the venue a say over who is allowed on the property. An owner who refuses one performer does not have to cancel anything — the promoter simply has no room to put him in.

Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access.

— Macklemore, in his Sept. 14 Instagram statement

So Sheeran can accurately say the decision was the promoter’s, the promoter can accurately say the venues refused, and Macklemore can accurately say a stadium owner ended his run. Those are three links in one chain, not three competing stories.

How much does a stadium opener make?

Macklemore put his own number on it: $1 million for the U.S. leg. Spread across a stadium run, that is roughly a mid-five-figure fee per night — real money, and a small fraction of what the headliner grosses in the same building.

It is also why the gesture lands. An opener does not have a tour’s worth of merchandise and VIP packages to fall back on. The fee is close to the whole of what the job paid.

Where is Macklemore’s $1 million going?

To six organizations: the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, American Near East Refugee Aid and UNRWA USA. He announced it on Sept. 16 and challenged Kraft to match him.

Kraft then announced $2 million, without naming recipients. Kraft has said Sheeran had asked him to commit that amount for aid. The children’s educator Ms. Rachel said she would match Macklemore’s $1 million to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

Which opening acts quit?

All of them. Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and the Irish band Beoga withdrew on Sept. 15, leaving the remaining U.S. dates without a support bill.

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote. Lukas Graham posted that “Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation.” Rowe and Beoga, both Irish, framed their exits around Ireland’s own history of famine and colonization.

More on Macklemore and the rest of our Music coverage, including the death of Spring Awakening composer Duncan Sheik. Elsewhere this week, a comedy broke the Emmy record.

— Bruno Monteiro

Sources: Macklemore’s Instagram statement, Sept. 14 and Sept. 16, 2026; Ed Sheeran’s Instagram statement, Sept. 15, 2026; Robert Kraft’s statement, Sept. 14, 2026; Messina Touring Group’s announcement, Sept. 14, 2026; statements from Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga, Sept. 15, 2026. Reporting: The Wall Street Journal (the Kraft call); NPR; The Washington Post; CNN; Variety; CNBC; NBC News. Photos: frames from “Macklemore – Chant (Live on KEXP)” (KEXP), “Ed Sheeran – Sapphire (Live from Marseille)” (Ed Sheeran’s official channel) and CBS Mornings, Sept. 15, 2026.