Macklemore says nine US arenas rejected his Free Palestine tour

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 7 Nov, 02:03 · Archive

Macklemore claims nine major US arenas turned down benefit concerts for Palestine after he was dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour.

Macklemore says nine major American arenas have refused to host his Free Palestine fundraising tour. The rapper, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, was dropped from Ed Sheeran's Loop tour after making onstage comments about Gaza. He subsequently held sold-out benefit concerts in Dublin, London and Paris in September.

The venues he named as rejecting him include Madison Square Garden and three other New York City arenas, the Prudential Center in New Jersey, four venues in California (Crypto.com Arena, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum and Chase Center), and Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Both The Guardian and the Evening Standard reported these claims.

Macklemore said in an Instagram post that venues initially offered available dates through the end of the year, but withdrew them once they learned the concerts would benefit Palestinians. He wrote: 'By mid-September, we received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year. But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table.' He described the experience as unprecedented in his 20-year touring career.

Madison Square Garden challenged his account. An MSG Entertainment spokesperson told TMZ that Macklemore is simply 'not an arena level act' and that the venues have 'extremely limited availability'. This contradicts his claim that the rejections were politically motivated.

Macklemore responded defiantly on Instagram, declaring 'We will build our own stages' and vowing to continue with benefit concerts. He accused the entertainment industry of prioritising business relationships over support for Palestinians, and said he no longer cared about burning bridges with music industry figures. The New York Post reported that he promised more benefit concerts would follow, though 'the next stage looks considerably different'.

How it is being reported

• Humiliated Macklemore speaks out after ‘Free Palestine’ tour pitch to California arenas: ‘We will build our own stages’Macklemore says more benefit concerts are coming, even if the next stage looks considerably different.New York Post · 6 Nov, 23:26
• Macklemore says that nine US arenas turned down his Free Palestine tourRapper called out ‘intimidation, manipulation and suppression’ in a social media post, claiming major arenas refused to host him after the Ed Sheeran controversy Macklemore says that nine major US arenas have refused to host his Free Palestine fundraising tour, calling out “intimidation, manipulation and suppression” tactics. In an Instagram post , the rapper says that he hoped to bring the tour to the US, but nine major arenas refused to host the event, including New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Los Angeles’s Crypto.com arena and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Continue reading...The Guardian · 6 Nov, 19:46
• Macklemore says nine major US arenas turned down his Free Palestine tourThe rapper was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour over comments he made about Gaza.Evening Standard · 6 Nov, 18:54

In this story: Macklemore · Ed Sheeran · Madison Square Garden · New York City · California · Palestine · London · Paris

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log