Lorde Drops Six Figure Minneapolis Merch Donation Amid ICE Out Movement

Lorde has turned her Ultrasound World Tour stop in Minneapolis into more than a spotlight gig, she’s put her money where her message is.

The New Zealand singer-songwriter announced she’s donating her entire merch haul from the city, $204,000, to immigrant support groups as the city reels from a controversial ICE deployment and deadly confrontations (per billboard).

The news came via Lorde’s Instagram Story on Tuesday (Feb. 3), where she spelled out her plan and showed a photo with “ICE Out” scrawled across the back of her hand, her giving isn’t a token gesture, it’s a direct cash injection to organisations on the frontlines.

“I’m donating our merch take in Minneapolis ($204k) to Minnesota Immigration Rights Action Committee + Immigrant Defense Network.”

The donation will go to the Minnesota Immigration Rights Action Committee, a grassroots outfit mobilising protests and support for families hit by ICE raids, detentions and deportations, and the Immigrant Defense Network, a broad coalition of more than 90 immigrant, labour, legal, faith and community groups focused on legal advocacy and education.

ICE out

Lorde’s move lands against a backdrop of sharp political tension in Minneapolis, where an ICE operation stretching over weeks has drawn national outrage, two civilians Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed in separate incidents involving ICE officers in January.

Federal officials have defended the agency’s actions as self-defence, but public footage and witness accounts have fuelled widespread scepticism and anger.

Lorde’s visual message, the same “ICE Out” phrase seen on pins worn by stars at the 2026 GRAMMYs, including Billie Eilish, Kehlani and Justin and Hailey Bieber, underlines the cultural current of solidarity with immigrant communities in the face of federal enforcement.

She isn’t the only artist stepping up, Lizzo recently shared ways fans can help Minneapolis families, and Tom Morello teamed with Bruce Springsteen for a “Concert of Resistance & Solidarity” on Jan. 30, with Springsteen’s protest track ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ also making waves.

Lorde’s Ultrasound trek has been a commercial and cultural force, backing her Billboard 200 No.2 album and now channeling real cash into a city in crisis, her Australian and New Zealand leg drops later this month.

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