Macklemore announces new Free Palestine tour, after Ed Sheeran tour dismissal
asserted
Macklemore → announce → dismissal
-
Click here to listen to this article -
- Macklemore reveals his Free Palestine tour, just over a week after he was dismissed from Ed Sheeran’s tour.
asserted
he → click → tour
- The “Thrift Shop” rapper’s announced tour is currently three stops in Europe in late October but will later include U.S. shows.
asserted
tour → announce → shows
Macklemore remains firm in his commitment to the Palestinian cause amid Israel’s deadly war in Gaza.
asserted
Macklemore → remain → Gaza
The “Same Love” and “Hind’s Hall” artist, after a recent $1-million donation to pro-Palestinian charities and years of public advocacy, now has a tour to prove it.
asserted
artist → have → it
The Grammy winner, formerly of the “Thrift Shop” rap duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, announced the Free Palestine tour on Thursday, revealing a trio of concerts set to take place in late October in Dublin, Paris and London.
asserted
winner → announce → Dublin
Though the tour poster does not disclose the acts joining him for the trio of shows, Macklemore said those artists — “who have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people” — will be revealed at a later date.
asserted
who → disclose → date
He also confirmed that dates for U.S. tour stops will come in a later announcement and that the entirety of proceeds from the shows will go to a handful of charities “supporting Palestine and the Palestinian movement.”
asserted
entirety → confirm → Palestine
As Ed Sheeran continues his Loop tour, read on to learn about what led to the controversy surrounding it and the ensuing fallout.
asserted
what → continue → it
The pink tour poster featured illustrations of doves carrying olive branches and symbols of the pro-Palestinian movement including a watermelon and the fishnet motif of keffiyeh fabric.
asserted
poster → feature → fabric
In his Instagram caption, Macklemore referenced his dismissal from pop star Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour over his pro-Palestinian messaging and the ensuing fallout.
asserted
Macklemore → reference → messaging
“If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the last three years,” the rapper wrote on Instagram.
asserted
rapper → show → Instagram
“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.
asserted
we → try → artists
In the span of less than two weeks, Sheeran’s Loop tour became an unexpected lightning rod for controversy and conversation about artist activism after Macklemore, a former opening act, called for Palestinian liberation during a set of performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month.
asserted
Macklemore → become → Jersey
Footage of Macklemore’s MetLife performance spread online, drawing criticism from some Jewish advocacy groups including StopAntisemitism, the Israeli American Council and the Anti-Defamation League.
asserted
Footage → spread → StopAntisemitism
Sheeran also faced mounting pressure from wealthy venue owners, including billionaire Robert Kraft, to remove Macklemore from his tour.
asserted
Sheeran → face → tour
Macklemore confirms ‘Ed Sheeran and his team’ decided to remove him from the latter’s tour.
asserted
Sheeran → confirm → tour
The ‘Thrift Shop’ musician faced scrutiny for his onstage support of Palestinians.
asserted
musician → face → Palestinians
Within days, the promoter for Sheeran’s tour dismissed Macklemore from the shows.
asserted
promoter → dismiss → shows
Sheeran denied having a role in booting Macklemore from his tour — though the rapper shared a different account.
asserted
rapper → deny → account
In the wake of Macklemore’s dismissal, the remaining supporting acts for Sheeran’s tour, including Grammy winner Finneas and folk band Beoga (Sheeran’s backing band), pulled the plug on their future appearances on the Loop tour in solidarity.
asserted
acts → remain → solidarity
Still, Sheeran carried on with his tour over the weekend, addressing the controversy and expressing a middling stance on Israel’s war in Gaza.
asserted
Sheeran → carry → Gaza
Macklemore in his Instagram caption again accused Israel of genocide and said that “being apolitical” in wake of it “doesn’t work anymore.”
asserted
being → accuse → it
The rapper, who said last week that his support for Palestinians has come at a professional cost, said fans are expecting more from the artists they support nowadays.
asserted
they → say → artists
Apolitical singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is on the defense since Monday when Seattle rapper Macklemore announced that he had been dropped from Sheeran’s “Loop” tour.
asserted
he → announce → tour
“People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community.
asserted
People → ask → community
To use the stage for more than entertainment,” he said.
asserted
he → use → entertainment
“To push back when the call for a Free Palestine is met with attempts to silence it.”
asserted
call → push → it
As Macklemore looked back on the past weeks’ events, he underlined his concern over billionaires choosing “which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear.”
asserted
ones → look → stage
“Everyone should be paying attention,” he said.
asserted
he → pay → attention
Macklemore kicks off his Free Palestine tour in Dublin on Oct. 26.
asserted
Macklemore → kick → Oct.
The Aporia
