Ms Rachel is backing up her advocacy with a major donation.
The children’s YouTube star, whose real name is Rachel Griffin-Accurso, has been vocal about supporting children in Gaza and speaking out on related humanitarian issues.
Her pledge came after Macklemore announced Wednesday that he would donate $1 million, earned from his work on Ed Sheeran’s tour, to Palestinian aid organizations.
“I will match Macklemore’s donation, and I invite every wealthy white celebrity to match it and speak out against the genocide in Gaza,” Accurso wrote on Instagram Thursday.
“Over 20,000 precious Palestinian children have been killed, and children continue to be killed every day. We have a moral obligation to use our privilege and platforms to protect children and human rights.”
The announcement drew both praise and criticism across social media.
Ms Rachel pledged to donate money to Palestinian relief in a social media post on Thursday
After Macklemore announced Wednesday that he would donate $1 million, earned from Ed Sheeran’s tour, to Palestinian aid groups, Ms Rachel made the same pledge; Sheeran and Macklemore are seen together in Brooklyn in 2013
“I will match Macklemore’s donation, and I invite every wealthy white celebrity to match it and speak out against the genocide in Gaza,” she wrote
One user on X praised the move, writing: “Verdict: this is real generosity… it forces wealthy white celebrities to choose between actually giving and just collecting a headline.”
Another user added: “She’s always on the right side of history.”
Others questioned the announcement. One critic wrote: “Nothing says ‘humanitarian aid’ like announcing a $1 million check before naming exactly where the money is going.
“If it’s really for Palestinian civilians, publish the organizations, the receipts, and the safeguards ensuring $0 ends up in Hamas’ hands.”
Another person asked: “Why do they have to be white to match it?”
A third critic wrote: “Is she really this naive? Spending a million dollars for ‘aid’ that’s going to be stolen by Hamas to recruit more kids to fight Israel…….. She really has no respect for the welfare of Palestinians as a whole.”
The donation pledge followed Macklemore’s insistence that he would not scale back his pro-Palestinian activism after he was dropped as Sheeran’s opening act following a “Free Palestine” statement.
Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, has also criticized New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. The rapper accused Kraft of conspiring with other stadium owners to have him blacklisted from Sheeran’s tour and challenged the billionaire to match his $1 million donation.
Some social media users praised the outspoken children’s YouTuber, whose real name is Rachel Griffin-Accurso, for the move
Others criticized the star, who said: “We have a moral obligation to use our privilege and platforms to protect children and human rights”
The challenge appeared to prompt a response. Shortly after Macklemore announced his donation on Instagram, Kraft shared a statement on X saying he planned to match a $2 million donation from Sheeran.
The latest development comes after Sheeran suffered massive blowback in the wake of Macklemore’s ouster as fans unfollowed him on social media in waves and every one of his remaining opening acts withdrew from his tour.
In his post, Macklemore announced that he would be donating to six organizations serving Palestinians: Anera, Gaza Soup Kitchen, HEAL Palestine, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA USA).
‘With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom,’ Macklemore began his statement on Instagram.
‘I will be donating the entire $1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people,’ he continued. ‘And I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation.
‘Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,’ Macklemore stated. ‘A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth.’
Macklemore then tried to move the focus away from his professional setbacks to the people he hoped to help.
‘That is what this has always been about. Not me. Not a tour. Not the headlines or the controversy,’ he continued. It is about Palestinians’ right to freedom, dignity and safety in their homeland.’
Macklemore has accused Robert Kraft of conspiring with other stadium owners to get him blackballed from Sheeran’s tour, and challenged the billionaire to match his donation
However, Kraft claimed that ‘before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation,’ Sheeran had called him to urge him to match his own $2million donation
He added that Palestinians living amid the destruction wrought by Israeli forces faced far greater setbacks and dangers than himself.
‘I want to center the parents carrying their children into hospitals without the basic resources to treat them, and the physicians, paramedics, journalists and aid workers who keep going back in,’ Macklemore said. ‘I want to center the organizers and activists who have paid real costs for standing with Palestine. Their risk is of a far different order than mine.’
‘Just yesterday, 15-year-old Muhammad al Zinati was killed in an Israeli strike while rushing to help aid worker Sherif Lubbad, who had already been injured,’ the performer wrote. ‘He was a child. Both were murdered. Both should be alive.’
Macklemore added that countless more Palestinians’ names might never be remembered, as their families may have been wiped out.
The Same Love rapper admitted that ‘Writing a check is one of the least costly forms of solidarity available to me.
‘I am doing it because I can, and because these organizations are doing the work while much of the world debates it.’
But he went on to caution that ‘aid alone’ could not solve the crisis affecting Palestinians.
‘This is a manmade injustice, and I believe it requires immediate political change. Palestinians have lived for decades without basic rights and should not have to wait another day to be free,’ Macklemore wrote. ‘That is where my focus will remain. I will continue to stand with the Palestinian people and their fight for liberation.’
He then warned his fans: ‘When the news cycle moves on, which it will, don’t move with it.’
Macklemore concluded his post by simply stating: ‘Free Palestine.’
Macklemore and Kraft announced their donations just a day after Sheeran’s opening acts on his tour all dropped out in protest over Macklemore being removed from the live dates.
Macklemore announced his donation in a statement to Instagram. He said he would be donating his ‘net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people’
The rapper was due to open for Sheeran at eight of the remaining ten shows on his tour in America, which continues on Friday in Philadelphia, but on Tuesday it was announced that he had been dropped.
The American rapper had faced a boycott petition to remove him after he delivered a politically motivated speech in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank during his performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and 5.
Sheeran has now lost his remaining support acts – Billie Eilish’s brother and music partner Finneas, his close friend Myles Smith, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Beoga – who have all put out separate statements announcing that they will not continue with their dates on the LOOP Tour.
Responding with an Instagram statement after the news he had been dropped, Macklemore claimed that Sheeran told him billionaire Robert Kraft, whose company owns the Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts where Sheeran is set to play later this month, orchestrated the move after ‘rallying stadium owners and issuing an ultimatum.’
Later that day, Sheeran, 35, addressed the 43-year-old rapper being removed from the tour with his own statement, which said that Macklemore’s speech had upset the owners of venues they were set to play while reminding fans he will never personally take a publicly political stance.
Finneas wrote: ‘Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.’
And Irish singer Aaron Rowe took a strong stance as he wrote: ‘Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life. I could never thank him enough for this.
‘But as Irish people, we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation.’
Ed Sheeran’s opening acts on his tour have all dropped out after Macklemore was kicked off the live dates following a ‘free Palestine’ speech; Sheeran is seen in December 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts
The Hey Ma hitmaker continued by saying he ‘cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up.’
The third support act who pulled out was the group Lukas Graham who wrote: ‘We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up. Wherever they live. Whatever flag flies over them.’
It remains uncertain how the LOOP Tour will proceed with zero openers scheduled and 18 dates still set through the end of the year.
Sheeran broke his silence on Macklemore on Tuesday. The singer, who is a father of two, said that his audience is often young people ‘from different backgrounds,’ who do not expect his shows to be a political forum.
Sheeran assured his followers that Macklemore’s removal would not affect his tour, as he told them ‘I would never let down the fans who had made plans’.
In his reaction, which came two days after Macklemore’s own statement, he said: ‘I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
‘The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy. There are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated.
‘Macklemore asked to join my tour last year and I agreed, because I respect him as an artist. As with all my support acts, I agree that they play a setlist of their choosing.
‘After Macklemore’s performances at my New Jersey shows, venues on my upcoming tour dates communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting.’
Kraft has defended his decision to block Macklemore from performing, saying the rapper ‘crossed a line.’
‘Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech,’ Kraft said in a statement.
‘Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25 and 26 concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.’
The promoter for the American side of Sheeran’s LOOP Tour, Messina Touring Group, said in a statement that they were told by venues of future dates on the tour that ‘they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.’
‘Which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans,” a spokesperson continued to Rolling Stone. ‘After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.’
As seen in fan-taken footage from his September 5 performance in New Jersey, Macklemore wore a keffiyeh at one point during his set and also performed his 2024 song Hind’s Hall with footage of Gaza on the massive screen behind him.
In the lyrics for Hind’s Hall, the rapper criticises actions in Gaza. Proceeds from the song go toward humanitarian efforts from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
‘One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages in stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine. I said, Free Palestine!’ he told the attendees.
‘I want those words to be loud and clear so that people from Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them.’
He then introduced Hind’s Hall, stating that it ‘was inspired by the bravery of Columbia University students who led an encampment movement that mobilized the entire world. Opened up hearts, myself included.’
‘So thank you to those students that risked their diplomas, that risked their tuition, that risked their scholarships, that stood up and said, “No.” CUAD students, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace. Thank you guys.’
He addressed the Jewish community, stating: ‘To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you.’
‘My message is for peace. Love. For all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. So I say free Palestine. I say free Lebanon. I say free Cuba. I say free Congo, free Sudan, free all people in America living in fear over this terrorist organization ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.’
Macklemore went on to post a video of his speech on social media with the caption: ‘Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial.’
In 2014, Macklemore issued an apology after wearing a disguise on stage in Seattle that many condemned as an anti-Semitic Jewish caricature.
In his apology after the Jewish caricature controversy, he said: ‘There is no worse feeling than being misunderstood, especially when people are hurt or offended… I respect all cultures and all people.
‘I would never intentionally put down anybody for the fabric that makes them who they are. I love human beings, love originality, and… happen to love a weird outfit from time to time.’Macklemore added that he never thought he looked Jewish. ‘Some people there thought I looked like Ringo, some Abe Lincoln. If anything, I thought I looked like Humpty Hump with a bowl cut,’ he said.
