Macklemore announces ‘Free Palestine’ music tour after Ed Sheeran debacle

Macklemore announced that he and special guests will be traveling overseas for the “Free Palestine Tour” after his controversy with Ed Sheeran. On Thursday, the “Thrift Shop” rapper took to Instagram to share that the tour will hit Dublin on Oct. 26, Paris on Oct. 29 and conclude with a stop in London on Oct. 30. Dates for shows in the United States and “artist announcements” will be released soon. BACKGRID “If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the last three years,” Macklemore, born Benjamin Haggerty, captioned his post. “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,” he added. The “Glorious” emcee, 43, then appeared to take shots at Sheeran, who attempted to stay neutral on the war in Gaza. “It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore,” Macklemore penned. “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,” he shared. “What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage. 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 said that since his “schedule freed up a bit,” he has been contacting “artists who have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences.” BACKGRID “Because of how quickly all of this has come together, a lot of the conversations, schedules and details are still being worked out,” he wrote. “But this is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done,” the three-time Grammy winner added. Macklemore concluded his post by sharing that “all proceeds will benefit organizations supporting the Palestinian people and movement.” Kevin MazurGetty Images for iHeartRadio The “Marmalade” rapper’s tour comes more than a week after he was dropped from Sheeran’s Loop Tour for making onstage remarks about Palestine and the people of Gaza. Macklemore claimed the “Perfect” singer, 35, was pressured by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to drop the rapper from the tour due to his political stance. All of Sheeran’s other tour openers, including Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga, dropped out of the Loop Tour to stand in solidarity with Macklemore. Kristen Sherwood/Bav Media / SplashNews.com Fans also demanded refunds from Ticketmaster and Sheeran lost nearly 500,000 Instagram followers since the debacle started. Days after Macklemore’s firing, the “Shape of You” crooner made an emotional return to the stage — with no openers and no B stage. During his concert at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia last Saturday, Sheeran claimed he had been “abandoned” by his friends and family over the situation. Community Guidelines Welcome to the Page Six Community! Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas in a safe space. In order to do so, we've created a simple set of rules that will improve your experience. Simply put, keep it civil. Your post will/might be rejected if it contains: Spam Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language and threats of any kind Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author User accounts will/might be blocked if we notice: Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected Racist, sexist, or homophobic comments Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk So, how can you be a power user? Stay on topic and share your passion. Feel free to elaborate to get your point across. 'Like' or 'Dislike' when you are filled with emotions! Protect your community. Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules. Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Don't forget, freedom of speech is not the freedom of reach!