Macklemore Accuses U.S. Arenas of Turning Down Free Palestine Tour

The arenas Macklemore named were Madison Square Garden, Prudential Center. Barclays Center, UBS Arena, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, Crypto.com Arena, Chase Center, and Climate Pledge Arena.

Pitchfork has reached out to representatives at each venue for comment. So far, only the Garden has responded, with a typically petty statement: “We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability and he’s not an arena level act.”.

You can read his full statement below.

Ed Sheeran Attempts to Clarify Gaza Stance, Again Blames Venues for Kicking Macklemore Off TourMacklemore.

Bom dia, meu povo. Muitos de vocês têm perguntado sobre as datas nos U. S. para a The Free Palestine benefit tour e eu queria dar uma atualização.

The shows in Dublin, Paris and London were three of the most beautiful I’ve ever been a part of. Thank you to everyone who shared in those nights of joy, love and resistance.

I left with a renewed sense of what’s possible when people come together for something bigger than themselves.

From the beginning, our plan was to bring this tour home to the U. S.

But after weeks of reaching out, nine major American arenas have turned us down.

By mid-September, we received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year. But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table.

As portas estavam fechadas. As conversas eram todas diferentes, mas o resultado era o mesmo. Esses shows não seriam permitidos em esses locais.

Em mais de vinte anos de turnê, eu nunca experimentei nada como isso.

But this is not an isolated incident. For decades, activists, poets, writers, musicians and entertainers who have stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people have faced consequences for doing so.

Muitos pagaram um preço muito maior do que eu.

Looking back over the last three years, the only real regret I have is not speaking publicly when Zionists were kicking me under the table. At the time, I didn’t believe that centering what was happening to me was worth taking any attention away from the genocide in Palestine.

Mas a intimidação, manipulação e supressão que experimentei fazem parte de como os poderosos mantêm os artistas em silêncio. É a principal tática deles para nos manter em linha.

Shut up and dribble, or you will be punished.

But at this point, I’m three years past giving two shits about maintaining any relationships, business or personal, with anyone that isn’t riding for a Free Palestine.

I’d rather lose every opportunity in this industry than spend another day protecting people who value their business relationships with Israel more than they value Palestinian human life.

We live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech. Yet we’ve reached a point where a handful of billionaires can decide which causes are acceptable, which voices are welcome and which human lives are worth defending.

Today it’s Palestine. What will it be tomorrow.

To these owners, the words Free Palestine represent a threat. Not because they endanger anyone, but because those words challenge the systems of power they have built their fortunes on.

The tides are turning. Just three nights ago, Abdul El-Sayed won his Senate race on a platform that included ending the genocide in Gaza and stopping U. S. arms sales to Israel.

O problema com o poder de compra é acreditar que você também comprou as pessoas.

Os bilionários dependem do nosso silêncio e complicidade. Eles esquecem que compramos seus ingressos. Nós preenchemos suas arenas. Construímos seus impérios. E temos o poder de derrubá-los.

The people have spoken. We want an end to the genocide and we want a Free Palestine. The arenas have made their decision. Now we’ll make ours. If they think the threat of never playing another arena in America will make me retreat into silence, they got me fucked up.

There will be more shows for Palestine. We’ll keep working with other artists and organizers, continuing where we left off in Europe. We’ll probably just take that shit outside where it belonged in the first place.

Nosso compromisso com a captação de recursos e com a solidariedade ao povo palestino permanece o mesmo.

There comes a point when the world changes, not because those in power give us permission, but because the people stop asking for it.

Eles podem possuir as arenas. Mas não possuem as pessoas que as preenchem. E nunca o farão.