Rapper Macklemore announces Free Palestine Tour after Ed Sheeran fallout
Proceeds from the tour, which begins in Dublin next month, will go to organisations supporting Palestinians, he says.
Rapper Macklemore unveils Free Palestine Tour after Ed Sheeran split
Rapper Macklemore is set to begin a "Free Palestine" tour just days after being removed from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour following pro-Palestinian remarks he made onstage earlier this month.
"So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit," he said while announcing the tour on Thursday.
The American performer, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, said money raised from the tour, which starts in Dublin next month, will be donated to organisations that support Palestinians.
Macklemore's onstage remarks and his later removal from the tour prompted Sheeran's support acts to pull out, while the British singer said the decision to drop the rapper was made by his promoter, not by him.
In a statement on Thursday, the rapper said the past couple of weeks had shown him there had been "a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now".
"What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage," he said. "When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention."
Macklemore said he had spent the previous week reaching out to artists who had used their platforms to show solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences.
Because the tour came together so quickly, several details were still being finalised, he added: "But this is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done."
Macklemore's new tour will open in Dublin on 26 October, then move to Paris on 29 October and London on 30 October.
He said US dates would also be added, with extra tickets going on sale next week.
While opening for Sheeran at a concert in New Jersey in early September, Macklemore said: "A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so that I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very, very dear to my heart: Free Palestine."
The Thrift Shop rapper then performed a song dedicated to pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University.
After being removed from the tour on 14 September, Macklemore accused stadium owners of banding together to force him out. He was also accused by billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft of hate speech and antisemitic rhetoric related to Israel and Gaza.
Sheeran had earlier said the decision to remove Macklemore from his tour was made by concert promoter Messina Touring Group.
His initial comments caused all of his support acts to withdraw from the tour in solidarity, and fans to voice frustration. Ticket prices for the tour also dropped sharply.
Sheeran confronted the controversy directly at the start of his set in Philadelphia last week.
He said he had made "mistakes" in dealing with the fallout, apologising to fans and taking a position on the Israel-Gaza conflict, which he said was "a humanitarian issue".
He described the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks as "horrific", and also called the situation in Gaza "unjustifiable and disproportionate".