Major arenas across the country are facing accusations of silencing political advocacy after turning away a hip-hop artist's benefit shows. The unprecedented denials follow an earlier incident where stadium executives dismissed him from a stadium tour for onstage advocacy. In response, the artist contends that corporate venue owners are unfairly determining which public causes are acceptable to promote. To bypass these domestic venue hurdles, he recently completed multiple fundraising performances across European capitals.
Key points
The artist noted that he had never encountered similar venue refusals across more than tw…: The artist noted that he had never encountered similar venue refusals across more than twenty years of touring.
Venue decisions were criticized by the artist as an effort by billionaires to control whi…: Venue decisions were criticized by the artist as an effort by billionaires to control which causes are acceptable to promote.
Plans are underway to collaborate with organizers and fellow artists to schedule addition…: Plans are underway to collaborate with organizers and fellow artists to schedule additional fundraising events supporting Palestinians.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
American rapper Macklemore said on Friday that major US concert venues, including New York's Madison Square Garden, refused to book his Free Palestine tour that just concluded three dates in Europe.
The rapper launched the effort after he was removed as the opening act on musician Ed Sheeran's concert tour in August, because the stadium owners had objected to him saying "Free Palestine" on stage.
Since then, nine US venues 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."
Macklemore played Free Palestine shows in Dublin, Paris and London to raise funds for organizations that support Palestinians. The musician said he would work with other artists and organisers to do more performances for the cause.
"We live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech,"…
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