Macklemore Launches ‘Free Palestine’ Tour Following Ed Sheeran Separation

American rapper Macklemore, who was dropped as the opening act for Ed Sheeran after making pro-Palestinian statements, announced on Thursday that he would headline his own “Free Palestine” concert tour beginning next month.

The tour will launch in Dublin, Paris, and London, according to an Instagram post from Macklemore. He noted that US dates and additional performers would be revealed later, with proceeds going to organizations supporting the Palestinian people.

“Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore,” he said. “People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community. To use the stage for more than entertainment. To push back when the call for a Free Palestine is met with attempts to silence it.”

The Grammy-winning rapper had been scheduled to perform at eight additional Sheeran shows before being removed from the tour last month following comments at a New Jersey performance.

“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine,'” he said on stage.

Macklemore stated that stadium owners where Sheeran was scheduled to perform had objected to his remarks.

Israeli officials have strongly denied that their actions in Gaza constitute genocide, claiming they are justified as self-defense.

Sheeran, an English-born singer-songwriter and one of the world’s top-selling recording artists, stated that the decision to remove Macklemore came from tour organizers rather than himself, and that he had attempted to find a resolution. He apologized for his handling of the situation during a Philadelphia performance and condemned Israel’s treatment of Gaza residents as “unjustifiable.”

Macklemore has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and the West Bank.

“If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the last three years,” Macklemore said on Thursday. “There has been 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 added. “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.”

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