Macklemore announces a ‘Free Palestine’ tour after being removed from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour

(Gray News) - Macklemore is launching a “Free Palestine” tour after his removal from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour following pro-Palestinian comments he made onstage earlier this month.

The Grammy Award-winning rapper took to social media Thursday to announce his new upcoming tour plans.

“So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit ... what happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “I’ve spent the last week reaching out to artists who have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

The Washington state native whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty noted that proceeds from the tour would go to organizations supporting Palestine.

Currently, the tour is slated to kick off in Dublin on Oct. 26, with a stop in Paris on Oct. 29, followed by a performance in London on Oct. 30.

Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian comments were made at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium while on the Loop Tour.

The rapper shared that following that appearance, several U.S. venues said they would prohibit him from performing as Sheeran’s opening act for the tour.

Other opening acts for the Loop Tour subsequently dropped out on their own following Macklemore’s removal.

At that time, Sheeran shared that the decision to cut Macklemore from the tour was the promoter’s and not his own.

Macklemore has also announced he would be donating $1 million of his net earnings from his two appearances on the Loop Tour to six organizations helping Palestinians.