Macklemore Kicks Off 'Free Palestine' Tour After Being Dropped by Ed Sheeran
Rapper Macklemore launched his 'Free Palestine' tour in Dublin on October 26, opening a short European run after being removed from Ed Sheeran's US arena tour following pro-Palestinian speeches on stage.
Grammy-winning rapper Macklemore has launched a three-date European "Free Palestine" tour, with shows in Dublin (October 26), Paris (October 29) and London (October 30). All proceeds will go to organisations supporting Palestinians, including Anera, HEAL Palestine, the Palestinian Youth Movement, Jewish Voice for Peace, UNRWA USA and several others.
The tour follows Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's US arena tour, where he had delivered "Free Palestine" speeches during two performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft refused to allow Macklemore to perform at his venue due to the rapper's vocal support for Palestine and allegedly leaned on other stadium owners to do the same, ultimately forcing the tour's promoters to drop him. Macklemore responded by donating his full $1 million tour salary to organisations supporting Palestinians.
Kraft announced that both he and Sheeran would each donate $2 million to humanitarian aid in the region, though no specific organisations were named. Sheeran initially posted a statement explaining his decision to keep politics off his professional platform, drawing widespread criticism. He reversed course at his September 19 concert, telling the audience he could no longer stay silent, calling the situation in Gaza "catastrophic and unjustifiable."
Announcing the tour on Instagram, Macklemore wrote: "It's 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn't work anymore," and warned that 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."
