Macklemore says efforts to stage his “Free Palestine” benefit tour in the United States were thwarted by venue operators who refused to host the shows.
In a statement released Friday, Macklemore singled out several major arenas, including Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center in New York, the Kia Forum, Intuit Dome and Crypto.com Arena in the Los Angeles area, and Chase Center in San Francisco. According to the rapper, he was initially “received dates available at these arenas through the end of the year,” but those offers were withdrawn once the venues learned the shows would benefit Palestine.
“The doors were closed,” Macklemore said. “The conversations were all different, but the outcome was the same. Shows were not going to be allowed in these venues.”
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In September, Macklemore was removed from Sheeran’s tour as a support act after several stadium operators, led by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, objected to the Seattle rapper’s remarks in support of Palestine and threatened to block him from performing if he remained on the bill.
Macklemore then launched his “Free Palestine Tour” with three sold-out shows in Dublin, Paris and London last month. He was joined by bands such as Hozier, Aurora, Paloma Faith, Kneecap and Portugal. Man.
Undeterred, Macklemore says he remains committed to bringing the tour to the United States, even if it means building his own stages or performing outdoor shows. “We will continue to work with other artists and organizers, continuing where we left off in Europe,” he said. “We’ll probably just take this shit outside, where it was supposed to be in the first place. »
You can read his full statement below.
Macklemore Statement
Have a good day my people. Many of you have been asking about the dates for The Free Palestine US benefit tour and I wanted to give you an update.
The shows in Dublin, Paris and London were three of the finest I have ever been to. Thank you to everyone who shared these nights of joy, love and resistance. I came away with a renewed sense of what is possible when people come together for something bigger than themselves.
From the beginning, our plan was to bring this tour back to the United States.
But after weeks of contact, nine major American arenas refused our offer.
Madison Square Garden. Prudential Center. Barclays Center. UBS Arena. Intuitive Dome. Kia Forum. Crypto.com Arena. Hunting center. Arena of climate commitments. Here’s what happened…
In mid-September, we received the available dates in these arenas until the end of the year. But once they found out that these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly thrown out. The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the outcome was the same. Shows were not going to be allowed in these places.
In over twenty years of touring, I have never experienced anything like this.
But this is not an isolated incident. For decades, activists, poets, writers, musicians and artists who stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people have had to suffer the consequences. Many paid a much higher price than me.
Looking back over the last three years, the only real regret I have is not speaking out publicly when the Zionists were under the table.
At the time, I didn’t think that centering what was happening to me was worth distracting from the genocide in Palestine.
But the intimidation, manipulation, and repression I experienced is part of how those in power keep artists silent. This is their main tactic to keep us under control. Shut up and dribble, or you will be punished.
But at this point, it’s been three years that I don’t care about maintaining relationships, professional or personal, with anyone who doesn’t advocate for a free Palestine.
I would rather lose every opportunity in this industry than spend another day protecting people who value their business relationship with Israel more than Palestinian human life.
We live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech. Yet we have 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.
Today it is Palestine. What will happen tomorrow?
For these owners, the words Free Palestine represent a threat. Not because they put anyone in danger, but because these words challenge the systems of power on which they have built their fortunes.
For artists who are afraid of what those two words might cost them, I understand that fear. I felt it myself, especially when I was still wondering if I should speak out. But I believe fear begins to lose its power as soon as we realize we are not alone.
I dream of a world where saying free Palestine is not controversial. It’s planned. Where artists value their freedom of expression and collective liberation more than their brand deals.
Look at what just happened in Europe. Three sold-out arenas. Tens of thousands of people from different backgrounds, religions and backgrounds come together. More than forty artists and speakers put their names and platforms behind Palestinian liberation. Despite all attempts to portray this movement as one rooted in hatred, what filled these rooms was love.
The tides are turning. Just three nights ago, Abdul El-Sayed won his Senate race with a platform that included ending the genocide in Gaza and stopping U.S. arms sales to Israel. AIPAC spent $42 million trying to defeat it. And they still couldn’t win.
The problem with purchasing power is believing that you have also bought people.
Billionaires depend on our silence and complicity. They forget that we buy their tickets. We fill their arenas. We build their empires. And we have the power to bring them down.
The people have spoken. We want an end to the genocide and we want a free Palestine. The arenas have made their decision. Now we’re going to make our own. If they think the threat of never playing another arena in America will make me retreat into silence, they’ve screwed me.
There will be more shows for Palestine. We will continue to work with other artists and organizers, continuing where we left off in Europe. We’ll probably just put this shit out where it was supposed to be in the first place.
Our commitment to fundraising and standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people remains the same.
There comes a time when the world changes, not because those in power give us permission, but because people stop asking for it.
We will build our own scenes.
They can own the arenas. But they don’t own the people who fill them. And they never will.
FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸 ❤️ ✨
Gn entert
