‘The Doors Were Closed’: Macklemore Says Nine Major US Arenas Turned Down His Free Palestine Tour — MSG Fires Back, ‘He’s Not an Arena Level Act.’
Macklemore says nine major US arenas turned down his Free Palestine benefit tour. MSG fires back: he is not an arena level act.
Nine arenas. Nine no’s. That is how Macklemore tells it. On Friday, November 6, the rapper posted a long statement on Instagram saying he had tried for weeks to bring a “Free Palestine” benefit tour to the United States — and that nine of the country’s biggest rooms had turned him down.
“After weeks of reaching out, nine major American arenas have turned us down: Madison Square Garden, Prudential Center, Barclays Center, UBS Arena, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, Crypto.com Arena, Chase Center and Climate Pledge Arena.” Macklemore says the dates were there before the reason was known: “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.”
That last part is his allegation, and it matters to say so, because only one of the nine venues has answered it. Madison Square Garden’s operator, MSG Entertainment, told TMZ the decision had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with drawing power: “We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability and he’s not an arena level act.” The other eight venues have not given a public explanation. So the public is left with two competing stories — a rapper who says the doors closed once the cause was named, and a venue operator who says the room was never his to fill.
Two Very Different Explanations
The row did not come out of nowhere. Macklemore was removed as the opening act on Ed Sheeran’s US tour this fall after pro-Palestine remarks onstage, and he took the benefit shows to Europe instead, selling out Dublin on October 26, Paris on October 29 and London on October 30. He also pledged $1 million from his Ed Sheeran tour earnings to Palestinian organisations, according to TalkFuse and A.V. Club reporting. His patience is gone: “I’m past giving two shits about maintaining any relationships… with anyone that isn’t riding for a Free Palestine.”
The statement travelled fast. Wear The Peace’s post carrying it in full drew 11,944 likes and 718 comments — counts on the repost, not Macklemore’s own post, whose numbers could not be verified. TRT World and The FADER also carried it, and the replies split along the same fault line: supporters calling the refusals censorship and urging boycotts of the nine venues, and others siding with MSG’s argument that an arena books acts that can fill it, whatever the cause.
Neither side has budged. With nine of America’s biggest stages apparently closed to him, Macklemore’s next move is the one he already promised: build his own.
Nick Athan
Nick Athan is the founder of Chiefs Blitz and former publisher of Warpaint Illustrated. With decades spent covering the Kansas City Chiefs, he brings unmatched insight and connections to every story.
