Macklemore accuses Arenas of rejecting his Palestine tour

The American rapper, who in September 2026 reported being kicked out of Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour due to his pro-Palestinian positions, accused nine locations in the United States on Instagram of refusing to host his benefit concerts in favor of Palestine.

After the success of the dates in Europe at the end of October 2026 of his Free Palestine Tour, the American rapper Macklemore accused in an Instagram post the Madison Square Garden in New York and eight other arenas in the United States (respectively the Prudential Center in New Jersey, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the UBS Arena on Long Island, the Intuit Dome, the Kia Forum and the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the Chase Center in San Francisco and the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle) of having refused to host his benefit concerts for Palestine. “From the beginning, our plan was to bring this tour home to the United States. But after weeks of contact, nine major American arenas told us no,” wrote Macklemore, who in September 2026 reported being kicked off Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour due to his pro-Palestinian positions. "In mid-September we had received availability of dates for these arenas until the end of the year. But once they found out that these were my benefit concerts for Palestine, these dates suddenly no longer worked. The doors closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same. The shows could not be held in these places."

“In over 20 years of touring, nothing like this has ever happened to me,” Macklemore continued. "This is not an isolated incident. For decades, activists, poets, writers, musicians and entertainers who have stood in solidarity with the Palestinian population have suffered consequences. Many have paid a much higher price than I have. Looking back over the last three years, the only regret I have is that I did not speak out publicly when the Zionists were giving me soccer under the table. At the time, I didn't believe it was worth reporting on what was happening to me, taking away attention from the genocide in Palestine. But the intimidation, manipulation and suppression I have experienced is part of how those in power keep us entertainers silent. It is the main tactic to keep us in line and avoid it, or you will be punished. He further stated, "I'm three years away from caring about maintaining relationships, business or personal, with anyone who isn't rooting for a Free Palestine. I'd rather miss every opportunity in this industry than spend another day protecting people who care more about their business with Israel than the lives of Palestinians. We live in a country that prides itself on its free speech. Yet, we've gotten to the point where a handful of billionaires can decide which causes are acceptable, whose voices are welcome, and whose human lives are worth it." defend. Today it is Palestine's turn. And tomorrow?”. He finally reiterated the continuation of the tour: "We will build our own stages. They may own the arenas, but they are not owners of the people who fill them. And they never will be. FREE PALESTINE".

A spokesperson for MSG Entertainment responded to Macklemore's claims in a statement to Variety magazine: "We operate some of the busiest locations in the world with extremely limited availability and he is not an arena performer."