Macklemore names U.S. arenas he says refused to host 'Free Palestine' tour
Macklemore says after weeks of reaching out to U.S. venues, nine major arenas have refused to host his "Free Palestine" tour.
Madison Square Garden tells CBC News: 'he's not an arena level act'
Helen Surgenor · CBC News
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Macklemore says that after weeks of reaching out to U.S. venues, nine major arenas have refused to host his "Free Palestine" tour.
The tour was launched after the Seattle-based rapper was removed as opening act for the U.S. leg of Ed Sheeran's tour after venues objected to his presence over his "Free Palestine" comments, with some accusing him of antisemitism and hate speech.
Sheeran's supporting acts stood in solidarity with Macklemore and also quit the Loop tour.
At the height of the controversy, Macklemore announced a three-date European tour, with all proceeds going to organizations supporting Palestinians.
The rapper said it was always his intention to bring the tour to the United States, but in an Instagram post Friday, he detailed some of the difficulties he has faced booking venues and called out nine specific arenas by name:
- Madison Square Garden in New York
- Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
- Barclays Center in Brooklyn
- UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y.
- Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California
- Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
- Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles
- Chase Center in San Francisco
- Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle
He said that by mid-September, he had a list of available dates at those arenas, but once the venues became aware he was inquiring for his Free Palestine tour, "those dates were suddenly off the table."
"In over twenty years of touring, I've never experienced anything like this," Macklemore said on Instagram.
CBC News has reached out to all of the arenas for comment.
An MSG Entertainment spokesperson told CBC News, "We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability and he’s not an arena level act."
Macklemore hats were on sale outside the Macklemore & Friends 'Free Palestine' Tour at The 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland in October. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
Macklemore ended his lengthy post by promising more benefits for Palestine, even if he has to play outside.
"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."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Helen Surgenor is a producer for CBC News based in Toronto, currently working for the entertainment unit. She spent years waking up before dawn to make the daily news podcast World Report. She has reported in Alberta, Iqaluit and Barbados. You can reach her at helen.surgenor@cbc.ca.
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