McLemore is donating $1 million of his profits from supporting Ed Sheeran’s hoop tour to Palestinian relief funds and is urging Robert Kraft, among other stadium owners hosting the event. Think out loud The singer’s tour, to follow suit.
McLemore said Wednesday on Instagram share He wants to “put the conversation back where it belongs: to the Palestinian people,” and will donate all of his $1 million net profits from Sheeran’s tour to organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people.
His statement read: “I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation. Whatever we disagree about, maybe we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting. Palestinian lives are no less valuable than any other life on this earth.”
The rapper was kicked off Ed Sheeran’s tour on Monday, 10 days after he said “Palestine is free” and that the people of Gaza and the “occupied West Bank” had not been forgotten while on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4, before performing his song. Hind Hall, Concerning pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Colombia.
Sheeran confirmed that his dismissal came after Robert Kraft, the owner of Gillette Stadium, where the British singer is scheduled to perform on September 25, and other owners said that they would not allow shows to take place if McLemore was present.
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McLemore said earlier this week that Sheeran informed him that Kraft and several other venue owners had banded together to give Sheeran an ultimatum. “If McLemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play on our courts,” he wrote.
Sheeran said on Tuesday that he had been involved in talks with various parties, including Kraft, to try to “build a bridge”, but the decision of the venue and promoter was “final”.
In a statement issued shortly after McLemore pledged $1 million, Kraft, who also owns the New England Patriots NFL franchise, said Sheeran contacted him and asked him to donate $2 million “to help the area.”
Kraft said in the statement that he was asked to match a $2 million gift he said Sheeran had made.
The singer did not announce whether he donated money or to whom.
McLemore’s donation comes one day after all remaining support acts for Sheeran withdrew from the tour, due to solidarity with the Palestinian cause.
Kraft said Sheeran is reaching out to other venues to “continue working together to build bridges.”
“In addition, I would like people who speak out in support of the Palestinian people to know that for decades I have supported efforts that create opportunities for Palestinians and brought Palestinian and Israeli youth together to build businesses, create jobs, and forge relationships,” he added.
In a separate statement on Monday, Kraft said the decision to cancel Macklemore was a result of his recent comments “and a broader history of anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe was deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.”
“This resolution is not intended to alleviate the suffering of innocent Palestinians or to deny anyone the right to defend them. Their pain and loss are real.”
In 2014, McLemore appeared on stage with a black beard, a wig and a prosthetic nose at a show in Seattle, which Jewish activist groups said at the time resembled an anti-Semitic caricature of an Orthodox Jew.
McLemore later apologized for his attire, saying: “I acknowledge how, in the context of stereotypes, the outfit could be attributed to a Jewish caricature.”
“I’m here to say that was absolutely not my intention, and unfortunately at the time I did not expect the outfit to be viewed in that regard.”
-With files from The Associated Press
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