Ed Sheeran stadium drama turns to donations and humanitarian cooperation

BOSTON — On Wednesday, the rapper Macklemore said he would donate $1 million, his full net earnings from his now-truncated role on the Ed Sheeran tour, to six organizations that supported Palestinian people. He invited New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to do the same.

"Whatever we disagree about," Macklemore wrote, "perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth supporting."

It turns out he was correct.

"I have dedicated much of my life to building bridges between all people," a statement from Kraft said. "I believe deeply that all lives are worth protecting."

The two were at odds this week when Kraft used his stadium ownership role to help oust Macklemore from Sheeran's tour, accusing Macklemore of having a "history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery" and expressing distress at unspecified "material shared from the stage." Macklemore had made speeches on the tour in support of Palestine.

In response to Macklemore's removal, Sheeran's other opening acts resigned as well.

Kraft said that he'd heard from Sheeran too, when Sheeran asked him, he said, to commit $2 million "to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis."

Kraft's statement said that for decades, he had "supported efforts that create opportunity for Palestinians and have brought young Palestinians and Israelis together to build businesses, create jobs, and forge relationships."

Kraft's statement did not say he was making an additional donation at this time, but did say that, with Sheeran and other stadium owners, "our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges."

"Writing a check is one of the least costly forms of solidarity available to me," Macklemore wrote in his statement.

The Ed Sheeran tour continues this weekend in Philadelphia and tickets are available.

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