Macklemore says US venues rejected his Free Palestine tour

American rapper Macklemore, an outspoken critic of ‌Israel’s war in Gaza, said on Friday that major US concert venues, including New York’s Madison Square Garden, refused to book his Free Palestine tour that just concluded three dates in Europe.

The “Thrift ​Shop” performer launched the effort after he was removed as the opening ​act on musician Ed Sheeran’s concert tour in August. Macklemore said ⁠at the time that stadium owners had objected to him saying “Free Palestine” on ​stage.

Since then, nine US venues declined to allow him to book available dates through ​the end of the year, Macklemore said on social media. The venues included Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

“The shows were not going to be allowed to happen ​in these venues,” he said in a post. “In over 20 years of touring, I’ve ​never experienced anything like this.”

A spokesperson for MSG Entertainment, which operates Madison Square Garden and other ‌venues, ⁠said its properties are among “the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability” and that Macklemore is “not an arena-level act.”

Representatives for the Kia Forum did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Macklemore played Free Palestine shows in Dublin, Paris and London to ​raise funds for ​organisations that support ⁠the Palestinian people. The musician said he would work with other artists and organisers to do more performances for the cause.

“We ​live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech,” ​he wrote. “Yet ⁠we’ve 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.”

Palestinian authorities say ⁠more than ​74,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault on ​Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israeli officials ​say the action is justified as self-defence.