Madison Square Garden, Kia Forum & more: Macklemore reveals which venues declined to host his FREE PALESTINE tour

Macklemore has claimed that nine US venues declined to host his FREE PALESTINE tour. He claimed that dates were initially available, but they were pulled back when the venues learned that the benefits would be donated to Palestine.

The rapper was involved in a controversy earlier this year after being removed from Ed Sheeran's tour. The latter revealed that some venues told him that the tour wouldn't be allowed to run with Macklemore. This came after his comments about Palestine in the initial shows of the tour.

The rapper, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, then announced his separate FREE PALESTINE tour. He performed in Dublin, London, and Paris in October. However, he has now revealed that he has been unable to bring the tour to the US.

In a statement on Instagram, published on Friday, November 6, Haggerty named nine venues that have refused to host his tour. They are:

• Madison Square Garden
• Kia Forum
• Prudential Center
• Barclays Center
• UBS Arena
• Intuit Dome
• Crypto.com Arena
• Chase Center
• Climate Pledge Arena

The rapper further wrote:

“By mid-September, we received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year. But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table. The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same. The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues.”

He added that he has "never experienced anything like this" in his 20 years of touring.

Also Read: “Not against anybody, not divisive”: Macklemore kicks off his ‘Free Palestine’ Tour after Ed Sheeran tour controversy

Madison Square Garden responds to Macklemore's statement against the venue

In his statement, Macklemore named Madison Square Garden (MSG) as one of the nine venues that refused to host his FREE PALESTINE tour. A spokesperson for the venue responded to the rapper's statement, saying (h/t Billboard):

“We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability and he’s not an arena level act.”

Meanwhile, in his statement, Haggerty wrote that this is "not an isolated incident". He added that artists "who have stood in solidarity with Palestinian people" have been facing consequences "for decades". He added:

“I’d rather lose every opportunity in this industry than spend another day protecting people who value their business relationships with Israel more than they value Palestinian human life.”

“We live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech. 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. Today it’s Palestine. What will it be tomorrow?”

He further cited the example of his three sold-out shows in Europe. He also referenced Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's win from Michigan in the US midterm elections.

The rapper further asserted that they will work with artists and organizers and continue the tour from "where they left off in Europe". Macklemore added that they will "probably just take that s**t outside where it belonged in the first place". He further asserted his commitment to the cause.

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Also Read: “Suspect this was the game-plan all along”: Piers Morgan reacts as Macklemore announces his ‘Free Palestine’ tour after Ed Sheeran tour exit

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