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Macklemore Says Chase Center Blocked 'Free Palestine' Tour Dates
Rapper Macklemore claims San Francisco's Chase Center and eight other major U.S. arenas pulled available dates once they learned his shows were Palestine benefit concerts. The allegation follows his removal as Ed Sheeran's tour opener in September.
Rapper Macklemore says San Francisco's Chase Center is among nine major American arenas that backed out of hosting dates for his "Free Palestine" tour after learning the shows were benefit concerts for Palestine.
In an Instagram post, the 43-year-old Seattle native, whose legal name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, listed Chase Center alongside Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, the Prudential Center in Newark, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, UBS Arena in New York, three Los Angeles venues (Intuit Dome, Kia Forum and Crypto.com Arena) and Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena.
"By mid-September, we received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year," Macklemore wrote. "But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table. The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same. The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues."
The tour itself took shape after Macklemore was dropped as the opening act for Ed Sheeran's U.S. Loop Tour in September, following pro-Palestinian statements he made at several tour stops. According to Rolling Stone, the decision was vocally supported â and possibly prompted â by New England Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft ahead of Sheeran's planned dates at the Patriots' Gillette Stadium.
The move drew swift backlash, with educator and advocate Ms. Rachel, "Hacks" star Hannah Einbinder and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders among those who criticized Sheeran's decision, Variety reported.
Macklemore said the venue refusals will not stop him from continuing the tour and spreading his message.
"I dream of a world where saying 'Free Palestine' is not controversial. It is expected," he wrote. "There will be more shows for Palestine. We'll keep working with other artists and organizers, continuing where we left off in Europe."
Chase Center, the Golden State Warriors' home arena in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood, has not publicly responded to Macklemore's claim. The venue has in recent years expanded its surrounding Thrive City district into a full-time entertainment zone.
The episode raises questions about how much say private venue operators have over the political content of events they host, and whether large corporate-controlled arenas are quietly narrowing the space for political speech in major American cities â including San Francisco.