AMERICAN rapper Macklemore has announced a Free Palestine tour with all proceeds going to charities and organisations that support Palestinians after he was kicked off Ed Sheeran’s tour for opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The musician announced the tour on Thursday, which will see him perform a series of live shows beginning in Europe, with stops in Dublin, Paris and London, that centre around Palestine and aim to provide humanitarian aid and support to Palestinians.
The show's proceeds will go to several charities and organisations including: Anera, Glia, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Taawon, HEAL Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Jewish Voice for Peace, Medical Aid for Palestinians. Institute for Middle East Understanding, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and UNRWA USA.
Earlier this month, Macklemore was removed from the rest of Sheeran’s stadium tour in the US after he made several onstage statements calling for Palestine to be free.
Announcing the tour, Macklemore said in a statement on Instagram that the last couple of weeks have shown that “something has shifted over the last three years” and that people won’t be “apolitical during a genocide” anymore.
He said: “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.
“It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore. 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.
“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.”
He added that his “schedule freed up a bit” and that he spent the last few weeks reaching out to artists who have “shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences”.
Although Macklemore has yet to announce any artists that will be joining him on the tour, he said he spoke with musicians who “understand that our platforms mean very little if we’re only willing to use them when it’s safe”.
He continued: “Because of how quickly all of this has come together, a lot of the conversations, schedules and details are still being worked out. But this is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done.
“So we’re going on tour.”
Macklemore was due to appear at eight of the 10 shows left on the US leg of Sheeran’s tour, but he was dropped after several venues allegedly told the tour's promoter that they would not allow him to perform following his pro-Palestine comments.
Following Macklemore’s departure, all of Sheeran’s Loop Tour supporting acts quit the remaining dates in solidarity with the rapper.
Irish singer Aaron Rowe, US musician Finneas, who is Billie Eilish’s brother, Danish artist Lukas Graham, and Sheeran’s tour band Beoga all posted on social media that they had withdrawn and that they stood with Macklemore.
Rowe said: “I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children.
“I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal.
“I need to be true to myself and my ancestors who resisted colonisation, and fought for a freedom that I enjoy today in Ireland.”
Meanwhile, Finneas said: “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed.”
At the time, Sheeran claimed that he was “not complicit” and that he has his own “personal views on this devastating conflict”.
However, after facing a fierce backlash from fans over his decision not to speak out against the genocide in Gaza, he made a tearful apology for making “mistakes”.
The singer told fans he was “so, so sorry” as he took to the stage in Philadelphia for his first performance since the row erupted.
Sheeran also made a rare reference to Israel's onslaught on Gaza, describing the situation as “catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate”.
