Robert Kraft donating $2 million to Palestinian relief efforts as Ed Sheeran, Macklemore feud rages on

Robert Kraft has pledged to donate $2 million to Palestinian relief efforts after he said Ed Sheeran personally called on him to do so.

The billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and the Kraft Group shared in a statement Wednesday that he had already decided to make the massive donation before Macklemore publicly called on him to match the rapper’s own $1 million donation.

“Earlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis,” the statement reads. “Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges.”

Kraft, 85, insisted that he’s dedicated his life to trying to help people come together and believes that “all lives are worth protecting.”

“I’d like the people who are speaking in support of the Palestinian people to know that for decades, I have supported efforts that create opportunity for Palestinians and have brought young Palestinians and Israelis together to build businesses, create jobs, and forge relationships,” he concluded.

Ahead of Kraft’s statement, Macklemore pledged in an Instagram post Wednesday to donate all the money he’d made on Sheeran’s Loop Tour — $1 million — before he was abruptly fired for his “Free Palestine” speech. He invited Kraft to match his donation.

“Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protection,” the “Thrift Shop” rapper wrote. “A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any life on this earth.”

On Tuesday, Sheeran’s tour openers — Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and his own backing band, Beoga — all dropped out of the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.

Finneas wrote in an Instagram post, “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. … I stand with Palestine and its people.”

Danish pop band Lukas Graham wrote, “We should be able to speak out about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up.”

“Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation,” they added. “Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”

The “Thinking Out Loud” addressed the backlash with his own lengthy Instagram statement Tuesday, noting he’s “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine,” and insisting that it wasn’t his decision to drop Macklemore from the tour.

Sheeran said he tried to “build a bridge” between the two sides — including talking to Kraft — but was ultimately unsuccessful.

“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” he wrote. “Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me. I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living.”

But the “Downtown” rapper did place responsibility on Sheeran in an earlier Instagram message, writing that “Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.”

“I consider him a brother,” he wrote in part of Sheeran. “And because of that, we’ve had some difficult conversations this past week. The type of talks rooted in love and respect for one another that still end in a place of fundamental disagreement.”

Macklemore claimed that Sheeran told him that Kraft called him and said he would “not be allowed” to perform at the businessman’s Gillette Stadium later this month. He further claimed that Sheeran told him that the words “Free Palestine” and the image of the Palestinian flag “were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with.”

“I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood,” he alleged. “But he couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides.’”