Ed Sheeran and Robert Kraft's $4M Gaza Pledge: So Where's the Money Actually Going?

Ed Sheeran and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft have pledged $4M (about £3M) between them to humanitarian aid in Gaza, Kraft has said. The announcement came hours after rapper Macklemore gave away his own tour earnings and urged Kraft to match him. Neither Kraft nor Sheeran has said where their money will actually go.

The pledges cap a turbulent fortnight for Sheeran's Loop Tour. Macklemore was dropped from its remaining US dates after voicing support for Palestinians on stage, a removal he blamed on Kraft, whose Gillette Stadium was among the venues. In protest, the rapper pledged the full fee he earned on the tour to Palestinian aid and challenged Kraft to do the same.

Kraft set out his pledge on 16 September in a statement posted through Gillette Stadium, which he owns. He said the decision predated Macklemore's public challenge: Sheeran had phoned him earlier that day and asked him to match a $2M (about £1.5M) donation the singer was making himself. 'I believe deeply that all lives are worth protecting,' Kraft said.

He named no charity, fund, or agency to receive the combined sum, and by that evening Sheeran had not publicly confirmed his own gift. Representatives for both men did not respond to requests for more detail, Variety reported.

Macklemore, by contrast, had named every recipient. The rapper, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, said his full $1M would go to six groups. The recipients are the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, the UNRWA USA National Committee, and Anera.

'Palestinian lives are worth protecting,' he wrote, saying he wanted to shift attention from the row back to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. In all, the three donations come to $5M (about £3.75M).

How a 'Free Palestine' Speech Upended Sheeran's Tour

The dispute erupted on 5 September, when Macklemore introduced his protest song 'Hind's Hall' and shouted 'Free Palestine' during a set at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. He was pulled from the tour's remaining US dates on Monday, 14 September, barely a week before it was due to resume in Philadelphia.

Sheeran has insisted the call was not his. He blamed the tour's promoter, Messina Touring Group, which said venues had left it no choice, according to the Associated Press. Dropping Macklemore 'was the promoter's decision, it was not mine,' the singer wrote. He said he does not use his platform for politics and would not abandon the fans, crew, and support acts who depend on him.

Kraft, whose Gillette Stadium is one of the tour's remaining stops, said he would not allow Macklemore to perform there, pointing to what he called a history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery. Macklemore said the billionaire had gone further and leaned on other venue owners to bar him, a claim Kraft has not addressed. The rapper rejected the accusation, arguing that criticism of Israel is not the same as hatred of Jewish people.

The fallout was swift. All four of Sheeran's remaining support acts—Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and Beoga—walked out in solidarity, leaving him with no opening act for the rest of the American leg. Others weighed in from further afield. Ms. Rachel, the children's entertainer, model Bella Hadid, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and US Representative Ilhan Omar all backed Macklemore. Ms. Rachel accused Sheeran of championing Ukraine while treating Palestine as too political to touch.

The row has reopened a debate about who controls the stage. Under US law, the owner of a private stadium is free to decide who performs there. But Lee Rowland of the National Coalition Against Censorship said the affair could push artists towards self-censorship, softening their material rather than risk being shut out by a promoter or venue.

The two are not new acquaintances. Sheeran performed at Kraft's star-studded 2022 wedding to Dr Dana Blumberg, playing 'Perfect' for the couple's first dance.

It has all played out around one of the year's most lucrative tours. Sheeran's Loop Tour has reported box-office takings of about $98.6M (about £74M) from 17 shows. The pledges, meanwhile, come during Israel's war in Gaza, which began after the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023.

For now, only Macklemore's $1M has a destination. Sheeran has yet to confirm his pledge in his own words. Kraft, who says he has spent decades funding work that brings Palestinians and Israelis together, has not said where the new $4M will end up, or when.