Macklemore announces ‘Free Palestine’ tour after Ed Sheeran controversy

Rapper Macklemore announced Thursday he is launching a “Free Palestine” tour after being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour after making pro-Palestinian comments on stage.

“This is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done. So we’re going on tour,” Macklemore wrote in a message on social media.

The rapper, whose birth name is Ben Haggerty, said more tour details, including artists and dates, will be announced soon.

“So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit,” he wrote, in part. “I’ve spent the last week reaching out to artists who have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences. Artists who understand that our platforms mean very little if we’re only willing to use them when it’s safe.”

Macklemore previously announced on Sept. 14 he had been dropped from Sheeran’s United States tour after making pro-Palestinian comments on stage at MetLife stadium earlier this month.

In a video from the Sept. 4 show at MetLife posted to his Instagram account, Macklemore says in part, “One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour, was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America, and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart. Free Palestine.”

Macklemore then alleged that Sheeran told him Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots, rallied other venue owners and gave Sheeran an ultimatum, threatening to block the shows if Macklemore remained on the tour.

Following Macklemore’s exit from Sheeran’s tour, other supporting acts, including Aaron Rowe, Finneas, Beoga and Lukas Graham, said they would be withdrawing from the tour in the wake of the controversy.

On Sept. 19, at his first concert following the controversy, Sheeran opened his show by apologizing to fans for “making mistakes.

Sheeran told fans at Lincoln Financial Field that he has had to make difficult decisions in the past week adding, “and I am making mistakes and I’m so, so sorry.”

Earlier in the week, Sheeran said on social media that the decision to drop Macklemore from the tour was his promoter’s decision.

In a statement to News last week, Messina Touring Group, the tour’s U.S. promoter, said, “As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”

Neither Sheeran nor Kraft have commented publicly on Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” tour announcement.

Kraft previously replied to Macklemore’s comments in a statement shared with News on Sept. 14.

“Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line,” Kraft stated in part.

Kraft didn’t specify the allegations of antisemitism. 

“This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real,” Kraft continued. “I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same – peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.”

In his statement also released on Sept. 14, Macklemore said that “antisemitism is real,” adding, “That is exactly why the word matters too much to be used as a shield against criticism of the Israeli state.”

“When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying ‘Free Palestine’ gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn’t protect Jewish people,” he continued. “It protects Israel from accountability.”