Macklemore has publicly stated that nine arenas, including four in California, canceled bookings for his planned "Free Palestine" benefit tour. He alleges these venues initially offered dates before withdrawing them upon discovering the concerts' pro-Palestinian cause.
However, a spokesperson for Madison Square Garden Entertainment told TMZ that Macklemore is not considered an "arena level act," suggesting his popularity was the reason for the rejection, not his political stance. "We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability and he’s not an arena level act," the spokesperson said.
Macklemore expressed his defiance on Instagram, declaring, "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." He further criticized what he described as billionaires and artists prioritizing business relationships over Palestinian lives.
The rapper named the Intuit Dome and Kia Forum in Inglewood, Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, and the Chase Center in San Francisco as among the California venues that allegedly pulled out. Madison Square Garden and Brooklyn's Barclays Center were also mentioned.
Macklemore's proposed U.S. shows were intended to follow successful benefit performances in Dublin, Paris, and London. He asserted that he would 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."
This situation follows Macklemore's controversial appearances opening for Ed Sheeran in September at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. During those shows, he called for a free Palestine and accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, which led to demands from the Israeli-American Council for Sheeran to drop him from the tour. Sheeran later indicated that the decision to remove Macklemore from the tour was made by the concert promoter and venues.
Macklemore suggested that more benefit concerts are planned, even if the venues will need to be unconventional. "We’ll probably just take that shit outside where it belonged in the first place," he wrote, vowing to continue fundraising efforts for Palestinians with artists and organizers.