Macklemore Claims US Venues Canceled Shows for Palestine

Rapper Macklemore alleges that nine venues across the United States canceled his planned benefit concerts for Palestinians after learning their purpose. He stated on Instagram that initially, dates were available for his "Free Palestine" tour through the end of the year. However, once the venues understood the shows were fundraisers for Palestinians, the dates were revoked, and "the doors were closed."

Macklemore listed the venues, including Madison Square Garden in New York, Prudential Center in New Jersey, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, UBS Arena on Long Island, and in Los Angeles, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, and Crypto.com Arena. Chase Center in San Francisco and Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle were also mentioned. He expressed that in over 20 years of touring, he had never experienced such a situation.

He declared he would rather lose all opportunities in the industry than spend another day defending people who value their business ties with Israel over Palestinian lives. Macklemore criticized the situation, stating that in a country proud of free speech, a few billionaires could dictate which causes are acceptable and whose lives are worth protecting, questioning what the next target might be.

MSG Entertainment, in response to Variety, stated that Macklemore is not an artist of the caliber for their venues, which have limited availability and host highly in-demand shows. The article also recalls that Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran's tour in September following pro-Palestinian statements made during a warm-up performance. Subsequently, other opening acts and Sheeran's backing band reportedly withdrew from the tour in solidarity.