Macklemore Says Arenas Rejected Palestine Benefit Tour

Macklemore says nine major U.S. arenas rescinded or withheld dates for his Free Palestine benefit tour after learning the shows would support Palestinian organizations. He named Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, Prudential Center, Crypto.com Arena and Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, and said dates had initially been offered for later in the year; the claims have not been independently verified. An MSG Entertainment spokesperson told CBC that the venue had limited availability and Macklemore was not an arena-level act, disputing his account of why the booking did not proceed; other venue representatives had not broadly responded to media requests. The claims follow benefit concerts in Dublin, Paris and London and Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour after his pro-Palestinian remarks; the other opening acts also withdrew in solidarity. Macklemore says he plans to continue organizing benefits, even if he has to build independent stages.