Macklemore donates $1m Sheeran tour fee to Gaza charities
Rapper Macklemore announced he will donate $1 million in earnings from Ed Sheeran's tour to charities supporting Palestinians. This follows his removal from the tour after making public comments regarding the conflict in Gaza.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the intersection of celebrity activism, corporate influence, and the ongoing geopolitical tensions surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict.
US rapper Macklemore has said he will donate his net earnings from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour - $1 million (€872,000) - to charities supporting Palestinian people.
The donation comes after the musician was dropped as a supporting act following comments he made about Gaza.
Since then, all of Sheeran’s other supporting acts have dropped out of the remaining dates, including Irish singer Aaron Rowe, Grammy-winning musician Finneas and Danish band Lukas Graham, along with Irish band Beoga, who had been performing with Sheeran during part of his set.
In a post on Instagram, Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, said: "With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in