When a rapper's pro-Palestinian words from a stadium stage cost him his place on a major tour, something older than music was at stake — the question of who controls the microphone and why. Macklemore, born Benjamin Haggerty, has answered his removal from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour not with silence but with a new itinerary: an independent 'Free Palestine' tour opening in Dublin on October 26, with proceeds directed toward Palestinian organizations. The episode has drawn into relief a tension as enduring as art itself — between the artist's conscience and the infrastructure that amplifies it — and
Macklemore launches 'Free Palestine' tour after Ed Sheeran removal
When the billionaire class decides which voices are allowed on stage
Mark
So Macklemore gets dropped from a major tour and immediately launches his own. That's a bold move. But I'm curious—how much of this was already planned versus opportunistic?
Mimi
The reporting suggests it came together very quickly. He says details are still being worked out, which tells you it wasn't a long-standing plan. But he'd clearly been thinking about using his platform this way—he brought it up onstage in New Jersey before he was removed.
Luke
Right, but we should be careful about the causality here. He says he wanted to do the tour partly to make pro-Palestinian statements. We don't know if he'd already been planning something independent or if this is entirely reactive to the removal.
Mark
Fair point. What about the money side? He's saying proceeds go to Palestinian organizations. Do we know which ones, or how much he expects to raise?
Mimi
The reporting doesn't specify which organizations or give any revenue projections. That's a gap. We know the intent, but not the mechanics.
Luke
And that matters, because "proceeds go to organizations" could mean different things. Is it all net revenue? After costs? We're not told.
Mark
The Sheeran angle is interesting too. Sheeran says it wasn't his call, but his tour got damaged anyway—support acts left, ticket prices dropped. Does he come out of this looking bad?
Mimi
He addressed it publicly, called his handling "mistakes," and took a position on Gaza itself—calling the situation disproportionate. That's more than some artists do.
Luke
But we should note: Sheeran didn't defend Macklemore's right to speak. He distanced himself from the decision while also not really pushing back on it. That's a middle position, and it's worth naming as such.
Mark
What about Kraft's accusation of antisemitic rhetoric? Did Macklemore respond to that specifically?
Luke
Not in this reporting. Kraft made the accusation, but we don't have Macklemore's direct response to it. That's a significant absence. The story tells us the accusation was made, but not how he addressed it.
Mimi
Which is important context for readers trying to understand what actually happened versus what's being claimed.
Mark
So the real question underneath all this is: was he removed for legitimate concerns about his rhetoric, or for his political speech itself?
Luke
And that's the question the reporting can't fully answer because we don't have the full record of what he said, what Kraft's specific concerns were, or Macklemore's detailed response. We have the frame—censorship versus accountability—but not the evidence that would let readers decide.
El Pulso
- Macklemore's explicit 'Free Palestine' declaration from a New Jersey stadium during Sheeran's tour set off a chain reaction that ended with his removal on September 14 — just days after the performance.
- The fallout spread quickly: all of Sheeran's support acts withdrew in solidarity, ticket prices dropped, and a public argument erupted over who actually made the call to cut Macklemore loose.
- Billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft escalated the conflict by accusing Macklemore of antisemitic rhetoric and hate speech, while Macklemore countered that wealthy venue owners were coordinating to silence pro-Palestinian voices.
- Rather than retreat, Macklemore reframed the controversy as a structural warning — 'when the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage, everyone should be paying attention' — and began organizing artists who had faced similar pressures.
- The independent tour, assembled rapidly and still incomplete in its logistics, transforms the controversy into a cause, repositioning Macklemore from opening act to headliner on a stage entirely his own.
When a rapper's pro-Palestinian words from a stadium stage cost him his place on a major tour, something older than music was at stake — the question of who controls the microphone and why. Macklemore, born Benjamin Haggerty, has answered his removal from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour not with silence but with a new itinerary: an independent 'Free Palestine' tour opening in Dublin on October 26, with proceeds directed toward Palestinian organizations. The episode has drawn into relief a tension as enduring as art itself — between the artist's conscience and the infrastructure that amplifies it — and invited audiences to consider whether a stage is a platform or a permission slip.
Rapper Macklemore announced a new independent tour this week with characteristic dry humor, noting that his schedule had 'freed up a bit' after being dropped from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour. The 'Free Palestine' tour opens in Dublin on October 26, continues to Paris and London, and will add U.S. dates, with all proceeds going to organizations supporting Palestinians.
The removal followed a September performance in New Jersey where Macklemore told the crowd that a central reason he had joined the tour was to stand in stadiums and say 'Free Palestine.' He also performed a song dedicated to pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University. Days later, Sheeran's promoter cut him from the lineup. Sheeran himself said the decision was not his, and later acknowledged making 'mistakes' in handling the aftermath — calling the October 7 Hamas attacks 'horrific' while describing conditions in Gaza as 'unjustifiable and disproportionate.'
The fallout was swift and wide. All of Sheeran's remaining support acts departed in solidarity, ticket prices fell, and the dispute went public. Billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft accused Macklemore of hate speech and antisemitic rhetoric. Macklemore responded by accusing stadium owners of coordinating his removal and framing the episode as a warning about concentrated power over public speech.
In announcing the new tour, Macklemore described the past two weeks as revealing 'a collective awakening' around Palestinian liberation and the capacity of wealthy interests to suppress it. He said he had spent the week reaching out to artists who had used their platforms for the cause regardless of cost. What began as a controversy has become, in his telling, a movement — and a stage built specifically around the message that got him removed from someone else's.
Rapper Macklemore announced a new tour on Thursday with a wry acknowledgment of his sudden availability. "So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit," he said, referring to his removal from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour just days earlier. The independent "Free Palestine" tour will begin in Dublin on October 26, followed by Paris on October 29 and London on October 30, with additional U.S. dates to be announced. All proceeds will support organizations working with Palestinians.
The tour announcement comes after Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, performed as an opening act for Sheeran in New Jersey in early September and made explicit pro-Palestinian remarks from the stage. "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 told the crowd. He then performed a song dedicated to pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University. On September 14, he was dropped from the tour.
Sheeran's promoter, Messina Touring Group, made the decision to remove Macklemore, though Sheeran himself emphasized that the choice was not his own. The removal triggered a cascade of departures: all of Sheeran's support acts dropped out in solidarity with Macklemore, fans expressed public frustration, and ticket prices for the remaining tour dates fell sharply. Macklemore subsequently accused stadium owners of coordinating to push him out, and billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft accused the rapper of hate speech and antisemitic rhetoric surrounding Israel and Gaza.
In his statement announcing the new tour, Macklemore framed the controversy as a broader question about power and speech. "What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage," he said. He described the past two weeks as revealing "a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now." He added that he had spent the previous week contacting artists who had used their platforms to support Palestinian liberation, regardless of personal consequences. "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," he said.
Sheeran addressed the controversy directly during a performance in Philadelphia the following week. He acknowledged making "mistakes" in handling the fallout and apologized to fans. On the substance of the conflict itself, he called the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks "horrific" and described the situation in Gaza as "unjustifiable and disproportionate," characterizing the broader issue as a humanitarian matter rather than a purely political one.
Macklemore acknowledged that the tour came together quickly and that several logistical details were still being finalized. "But this is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done," he said. The announcement marks a sharp pivot from opening act to headliner, transforming what began as a controversy into a platform explicitly organized around the cause that triggered his removal.
Citas Notables
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, in statement announcing the tour
The situation in Gaza is unjustifiable and disproportionate, and the October 7 attacks were horrific.— Ed Sheeran, addressing the controversy during a Philadelphia performance
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en BBC News ↗