Ed Sheeran stadium drama turns to donations and humanitarian cooperation

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartRadio/File

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.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartRadio/文件

周三，说唱歌手麦克莫尔宣布，他将把因故缩短的艾德·希兰巡演演出所得的全部净收入——100万美元——捐赠给六个支持巴勒斯坦人民的组织。他还邀请新英格兰爱国者队老板罗伯特·克拉夫特也这样做。

“无论我们之间存在怎样的分歧，”麦克莫尔写道，“或许我们可以在这一点上达成共识：巴勒斯坦人的生命值得支持。”

事实证明他是对的。

克拉夫特在一份声明中表示：“我毕生致力于在所有人之间搭建桥梁。我深信，所有生命都值得保护。”

本周，克拉夫特利用其体育场所有者的身份，将麦克莫尔逐出希兰的巡回演唱会，两人因此产生分歧。克拉夫特指责麦克莫尔“有反犹太主义言论和图像的历史”，并对麦克莫尔在舞台上分享的某些“材料”表示不满，但并未具体说明。麦克莫尔曾在巡演中发表支持巴勒斯坦的演讲。

麦克莫尔被除名后，希兰的其他开场嘉宾也相继辞职。

克拉夫特说，他也收到了希兰的来信，希兰请求他承诺捐赠 200 万美元“援助该地区，以应对这场人道主义危机”。

克拉夫特在声明中表示，几十年来，他一直“支持为巴勒斯坦人创造机会的努力，并将巴勒斯坦和以色列的年轻人聚集在一起，共同创业、创造就业机会、建立关系”。

克拉夫特的声明没有说他此时会追加捐款，但确实表示，他和希兰以及其他体育场馆所有者“的目标是继续共同努力，搭建沟通的桥梁”。

“对我来说，写支票是成本最低的声援方式之一，”麦克莫尔在声明中写道。

艾德·希兰巡回演唱会本周末将在费城继续进行，门票现已发售。