American rapper Macklemore, an outspoken critic of the war in Gaza, said on Friday that major US concert venues, including New York's Madison Square Garden, refused to book his Free Palestine tour, which had just concluded three dates in Europe.
The "Thrift Shop" performer launched the effort after he was removed as the opening act on musician Ed Sheeran's concert tour in August. Macklemore said at the time that stadium owners had objected to him saying "Free Palestine" on stage.
Since then, nine US venues have declined to allow him to book available dates through the end of the year, Macklemore said on social media. The venues included Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
"The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues," he said in a post. "In over 20 years of touring, I've never experienced anything like this."
'Not an arena-level act'
A spokesperson for MSG Entertainment, which operates Madison Square Garden and other venues, said its properties are among "the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability" and that Macklemore is "not an arena-level act."
Representatives for the Kia Forum did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Macklemore played Free Palestine shows in Dublin, Paris, and London to raise funds for organizations that support the Palestinian people. The musician said he would work with other artists and organizers to do more performances for the cause.
"We live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech," he wrote. "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."
Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 Gazans have been killed in the war, launched after Hamas killed nearly 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.