Rapper Macklemore has announced a new “Free Palestine” tour, days after he was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour following his pro-Palestinian remarks onstage.
The American rapper said that proceeds from the new tour will go to organisations supporting Palestinians.
Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, announced the tour on Thursday and joked about his newly available schedule.
“So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit,” he said.
The tour will start in Dublin on October 26, followed by shows in Paris on October 29 and London on October 30. Macklemore added that he will also add dates in the US, with more tickets going on sale next week.
The rapper said that the events of the last few weeks had highlighted “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 stated that he spent the past week contacting artists who had publicly supported Palestinians despite possible consequences.
He added that the tour came together quickly and some details were still being finalised.
“But this is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done,” he said.
Macklemore performed as an opening act for Sheeran at a concert in New Jersey earlier this month, where he told the audience: “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.”
He then performed a song dedicated to pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University.
Sheeran’s promoter later removed Macklemore from the Loop Tour on September 14. Sheeran said that the decision came from concert promoter Messina Touring Group rather than him.
Macklemore’s removal led Sheeran’s other support acts to withdraw from the tour in solidarity, while fans also criticised the decision. Ticket prices for the tour also fell.
After leaving the tour, Macklemore accused stadium owners of working together to push him out. Billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft also accused him of hate speech and antisemitic rhetoric over his comments on Israel and Gaza.
Sheeran later addressed the controversy during his set in Philadelphia, saying that he had made “mistakes” in handling the fallout and apologising to fans.
He also described the Israel-Gaza genocide as “a humanitarian issue”, calling the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks “horrific” and the situation in Gaza “unjustifiable and disproportionate”.
