Rapper Macklemore posted a statement on Instagram on Friday saying nine major U.S. arenas turned down his Free Palestine benefit tour. He named Madison Square Garden (MSG), Barclays Center, Prudential Center, UBS Arena, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, Crypto.com Arena, Chase Center, and Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena. He announced the tour in September, after tour promoter Messina Touring Group dropped him as an opener on singer Ed Sheeran's U.S. tour. That came after he said "Free Palestine" and showed Gaza imagery on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The tour's first three shows, in Europe in October, raised money for 12 groups that support Palestinians. MSG responded on Friday. As of Friday afternoon, the other eight arenas hadn't.

They Pulled the Dates Because of Palestine

Macklemore says billionaire owners are deciding which causes get a stage.

Macklemore says arenas offered dates, then took them back. He says that by mid-September, the arenas had given his team open dates through the end of the year. Those dates were "suddenly off the table" once the venues learned the shows were benefits for Palestine, he says. "The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same," he wrote. He says he's never seen anything like it in more than 20 years of touring.

He says owners are picking which causes are acceptable. Macklemore wrote that "a handful of billionaires" get to make that call. He said the words "Free Palestine" threaten owners because they "challenge the systems of power they built their fortunes on." He wrote that he'd "rather lose every opportunity in this industry than spend another day protecting people" who put business ties with Israel ahead of Palestinian lives.

He'll play somewhere else. "We will build our own stages," Macklemore wrote. He says he'll keep playing Palestine benefit shows with other artists, some of them outdoors.

But MSG Says He Isn't an Arena Act

Madison Square Garden says its calendar is packed and he isn't big enough to fill an arena.

MSG says it's about bookings. "We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability and he's not an arena level act," an MSG Entertainment spokesperson said Friday.

In 2013, he headlined the Garden's smaller theater, not the arena. That year, Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis sold out three nights at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. It's the smaller venue inside the complex.

Still, He Just Sold Out Three Arenas in Europe

Macklemore's statement points to last month's shows as proof he can fill the room.

All three European shows were in arenas, and all three sold out. Macklemore points to the shows at Dublin's 3Arena, Paris's Accor Arena, and London's OVO Arena Wembley last month. Singer Hozier and Irish rap group Kneecap played Dublin, and climate activist Greta Thunberg opened the London show.

And Kraft Barred Him in September, Citing Hate Speech

A stadium owner shut Macklemore out over what he called hate speech, and said Palestinian advocacy wasn't the problem.

Kraft said his stadium won't host hate speech. In September, Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots, said he barred Macklemore from the stadium. Kraft said events there must "not provide a platform for hate speech." He cited what Macklemore showed on stage in New Jersey. He also cited what he called Macklemore's history of antisemitic rhetoric.

He said Palestinian advocacy wasn't the problem. "This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf," Kraft said. The Israeli-American Council, a pro-Israel advocacy group, backed Kraft's ban at the time. "Freedom of speech is not freedom from responsibility," a council spokesperson said. Kraft doesn't run any of the nine arenas. None of them has given this reason.

Where This Lands

Macklemore says nine arenas pulled open dates once they learned his shows would raise money for Palestinians. He says billionaires are picking which causes get a stage. MSG says it has little room and he isn't an arena act anyway, while Macklemore points to three sold-out arenas in Europe. In September, Kraft said he barred Macklemore over hate speech, but Kraft doesn't own any of these arenas. The other eight venues still haven't said why they turned him down, or whether they did.

Sources