Macklemore, the Grammy-winning Seattle rapper, pledged Wednesday, Sept. 16, to donate his entire $1 million in net earnings from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour to six organizations supporting Palestinians.

The announcement came two days after Macklemore was dropped from the tour over pro-Palestinian remarks he made onstage at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. In the same Instagram post, he publicly challenged New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to match the donation.

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

Hours later, Kraft posted a statement via the official Gillette Stadium account on X, saying Sheeran had called him before Macklemore's public challenge and asked him to commit $2 million to humanitarian aid in the region. Kraft did not name recipients.

The six groups Macklemore named are the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, UNRWA USA National Committee and American Near East Refugee Aid.

Kraft, who owns the Patriots and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., confirmed on Monday, Sept. 14, that he barred Macklemore from performing at his venue.

He cited what he called "a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery" that he said was offensive to the Jewish community, the Seattle Times reported.

Messina Touring Group, the U.S. promoter for Sheeran's tour, confirmed Macklemore's removal in a statement to Rolling Stone. The promoter said multiple venues on the remaining U.S. dates would not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.

Sheeran said in an Instagram post on Tuesday, Sept. 15, that the decision was the promoter's, not his. He wrote that Macklemore's contract "was with the promoter, not me."

All four of Sheeran's remaining supporting acts quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore: Irish folk band Beoga, producer Finneas, Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe and Danish band Lukas Graham. Finneas also withdrew from Sheeran's planned South American dates later in 2026.

Macklemore, whose legal name is Ben Haggerty, is a minority investor in both the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Sounders FC. He has been an outspoken advocate for Palestinians since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, speaking at a pro-Palestinian rally in Washington, D.C., in November 2023 and performing his protest song "Hind's Hall" at the MetLife Stadium shows.

In his Wednesday post, Macklemore framed the donation as a starting point, writing that aid alone cannot address the conditions that require it and calling for immediate political change.

Kraft's $2 million pledge remains unspecified. His statement said Sheeran "now plans to reach out to other venue owners" with the goal of continuing "to work together to build bridges."

No replacement opening acts have been announced, and the tour's next scheduled date is Sunday, Sept. 20, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.