Rapper Macklemore says nine major U.S. arenas, including Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum, refused to host his “Free Palestine” benefit tour. Madison Square Garden’s operator rejected his account, saying the venue has little availability and that he is not a big enough draw to fill an arena.
In an Instagram post on Friday, Macklemore, whose legal name is Ben Haggerty, said he planned to bring the fundraising concerts to the United States after a three-city run in Europe. He said his team had been offered possible dates through the end of the year, but that the venues backed away “once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine.”
The arenas he named were Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, UBS Arena and Prudential Center in the New York area; Intuit Dome, the Kia Forum and Crypto.com Arena in the Los Angeles area; Chase Center in San Francisco; and Climate Pledge Arena in his hometown of Seattle.
MSG Entertainment disputed the claim. “We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability and he’s not an arena level act,” a spokesperson said in a statement to Billboard.
All three of the tour’s European shows were held in arenas: Dublin’s 3Arena, Paris’s Accor Arena and London’s OVO Arena Wembley. The shows, which raised money for organizations that support Palestinians, reportedly sold out.
Macklemore, an outspoken critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, launched the tour after he was dropped as the opening act on Ed Sheeran’s tour in August. He said at the time that stadium owners had objected to his “Free Palestine” remarks on stage. Sheeran later said removing him was the promoter’s decision, after New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium, rallied several tour venues to press the issue.
Macklemore said he remains determined to bring the tour to the U.S., even if that means building his own stages or performing outdoors.
