Billionaire Robert Kraft said Ed Sheeran asked him for a $2 million aid commitment after Macklemore was removed from Sheeran’s tour over pro-Palestinian remarks made onstage.

Kraft, owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, said in a statement Thursday that Sheeran called him before Macklemore publicly urged the billionaire to match a $1 million donation the rapper said he planned to give to Palestinian relief organizations.

“Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis,” Kraft said.

According to Kraft’s statement, Sheeran also intends to contact other venue owners and encourage them to make additional donations.

The remarks came amid a dispute over Macklemore’s place on Sheeran’s U.S. tour following the rapper’s pro-Palestinian comments during a performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month. Macklemore was later dropped from the remaining U.S. dates.

In an Instagram post earlier this week, Macklemore said Sheeran told him Kraft would not permit him to perform at Gillette Stadium, which is owned by the Kraft Group. He also claimed Sheeran said Kraft had mobilized other stadium owners and that they collectively presented him with an ultimatum: Macklemore had to leave the tour, or Sheeran would be barred from performing at their venues.

Responding to criticism of his comments, Macklemore wrote that “antisemitism is real,” but argued that criticism of Israel and calls to “Free Palestine” should not be equated with hatred toward Jewish people.

Sheeran’s four other supporting acts—Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Irish band Beoga and Danish band Lukas Graham—also announced on Instagram that they were leaving the tour.

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote.

Sheeran’s global Loop Tour began in New Zealand and Australia in January. Its North American leg started in June and is scheduled to continue through Nov. 7.

— Verum’s Dan Mangan and Jack Sommers contributed to this article.

Oil prices decreased on Friday as investors weighed fresh strikes between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis against signs that additional Saudi crude could reach global markets and help ease supply concerns.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, were last seen down $1.12 to $103.70 per barrel, on track for a third consecutive session of losses. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 11 cents to $101.80, having briefly dipped below $100.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis exchanged fresh attacks across their border on Thursday, raising concerns that the widening Middle East conflict could further disrupt energy supplies already strained since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Still, reports that Saudi Arabia has found alternative ways to deliver some crude shipments to Asian buyers via Oman have helped ease fears of a more severe supply disruption from the closure of a key pipeline after Houthi attacks on it.

The latest decline in crude prices reflects a partial unwinding of the geopolitical risk premium rather than a fundamental change in the oil market, according to Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com.

Improved logistics for Saudi crude exports have reduced the market’s assessment of how much supply is at risk, Massabni said, adding that oil prices reflect not just available barrels but also the probability of those supplies being disrupted.

Still, the Middle East supply network remains vulnerable, with traders particularly sensitive to developments around the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, export routes and oil terminals, he said. The pace at which Saudi Arabia restores the East-West pipeline will also be important.

Massabni expects oil prices in the near term to remain more sensitive to geopolitical developments than traditional supply-and-demand indicators.

Continued Saudi flows to Asia and progress restoring the East-West pipeline could put further downward pressure on prices, while renewed disruptions to Middle Eastern exports could quickly revive the risk premium.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has approved the potential $24.3 billion sale of nearly 50 F-35 warplanes to Saudi Arabia in what is seen as a major boost for the kingdom as it faces intensifying attacks from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

The package, which was announced on Thursday, includes the sale of 48 of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jets, the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft, and 49 Pratt & Whitney engines and other parts.

“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region,” the State Department said in a statement.

The announcement comes as the Houthis have recently ramped up attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and launched a lightning ground offensive to exercise control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategically vital oil choke point.

The Trump administration said the proposed deal would help improve Riyadh’s capability to deter current and future threats but would “not alter the military balance in the region” — referring to a longstanding U.S. policy that Israel must maintain a military advantage over potential rivals in the Middle East.

Congress has 30 days to scrutinize or attempt to block the deal, and some lawmakers have already raised concerns.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. said the U.S. should not move ahead with the deal at a time “when our own intelligence community is warning that it could put the crown jewels of American military technology within reach of the Chinese Communist Party.”

In a statement on social media, Krishnamoorthi added: “We must not sell our most advanced fighter jet anywhere the CCP may be able to get its hands on the technology inside it.”

Congress has previously questioned arms deals with Riyadh following the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Kohsoggi, a high-profile critic of the kingdom.

In May last year, Trump had praised Saudi Arabia and its leaders after the White House announced a commitment for the kingdom to invest $600 billion in a series of deals with the U.S.

Among the agreements was a nearly $142 billion defense sales deal, which the White House said at the time would provide “state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen U.S. defense firms.”

Trump, who has a close relationship with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had welcomed the crown prince to the White House in November.