After days of press coverage, Macklemore announced on Monday that he had been dropped from the line-up.
In a statement on Instagram, he said the boycott had been organised by Robert Kraft – the billionaire owner of the Gilette Stadium in Massachusetts.
Kraft – who once hired Ed Sheeran to play at his wedding – confirmed he’d made the decision to bar Macklemore, saying his venue would not “provide a platform for hate speech,” accusing the rapper of “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric”.
“I agree with Macklemore, too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering, but only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest and only advances more divisiveness and hate,” Kraft said.
However, he did not address the claim that he’d asked other venues to put pressure on the tour.
Tour promoter, Messina Touring Group, told Rolling Stone magazine that it had been told by venues that they would not allow Macklemore to perform, “which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.”
Many of the acts who withdrew on Tuesday night said Kraft’s involvement had influenced their decision.
“Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation,” said Lukas Graham.
“Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”
In his statement, Macklemore said he empathised with the difficult position Sheeran had been put in, but criticised the English singer for not taking a stance.
“Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed,” he wrote.
He also emphasised that, although he was only able to complete two shows on the tour, if his words succeeded in “turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”
