Macklemore has called out major arenas and concert venues in the U.S. for refusing to host shows for his Free Palestine benefit tour.
After he was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour in September for expressing his support for Palestine, the Seattle rapper successfully played sold-out benefit shows in Europe last month.
In his attempt to perform similar Free Palestine shows in the U.S., Macklemore (real name Ben Haggerty) shared a lengthy update on Instagram, claiming to be blackballed by the industry.
“The shows in Dublin, Paris and London were three of the most beautiful I’ve ever been a part of,” he wrote. “Thank you to everyone who shared in those nights of joy, love and resistance. I left with a renewed sense of what’s possible when people come together for something bigger than themselves.”
Macklemore says that the plan from the beginning was to bring the tour back home, but “after weeks of reaching out,” he says “nine major American arenas have turned us down: Madison Square Garden. Prudential Center. Barclays Center. UBS Arena. Intuit Dome. Kia Forum. Crypto.com Arena. Chase Center. Climate Pledge Arena.”
He explains that the dates were originally free through to the end of 2026 until the venues learned the concerts were to benefit Palestine. “The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same. The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues,” he writes.
Macklemore claims artists are facing “intimidation, manipulation and suppression” for supporting Palestine.
“I’d rather lose every opportunity in this industry than spend another day protecting people who value their business relationships with Israel more than they value Palestinian human life,” he says. “We live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech. Yet we’ve reached a point where a handful of billionaires can decide which causes are acceptable, which voices are welcome and which human lives are worth defending.”
Acknowledging the response to how his recent shows were received in Europe, as well as this week’s midterm elections in the U.S. that saw the Democrats seize control of the House and Senate, he believes the “people have spoken.”
“We want an end to the genocide and we want a Free Palestine,” he explains. “The arenas have made their decision. Now we’ll make ours... There will be more shows for Palestine. We’ll keep working with other artists and organizers, continuing where we left off in Europe.”
He concludes by stating his commitment to raising funds and standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people, stating that, “We will build our own stages. They may own the arenas. But they do not own the people who fill them. And they never will. FREE PALESTINE.”
Read the full statement below.