The mayor of Arab-majority Dearborn, Michigan, Abdullah Hammoud, invited rapper Macklemore to perform a free concert sponsored by the city after he was booted from his arena tour with Ed Sheeran following an anti-Israel rant on stage.
Macklemore, 43, had been opening for the British pop star and was scheduled to play eight more shows with him in the US before he was dumped from the tour by the promoter, Messina Touring Group, this week, who claimed stadium owners wouldn’t have him.
With his scheduld now wide open, Hammoud, a Democrat, extended an invitation for the Grammy winner to perform in Dearborn, which is home to one of the highest concentrations of Muslims and Arab Americans in the country.
“If they don’t want you performing in their stadiums, you’re always welcome in Dearborn,” Hammoud posted on social media Monday night.
“Come put on a show here. We’ll make it a free concert, sponsored by the city, and help make it one of the best around. We stand with you and for a free Palestine. Let’s make it happen.”
Macklemore hadn’t responded to the offer as of Tuesday afternoon.
A keffiyeh-clad Macklemore sparked outrage after going on an anti-Israel rant while opening for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium, calling for a “free Palestine” and accusing Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza.
His statements were immediately criticized by Jewish and pro-Israel groups such as the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Israeli-American Council.
Macklemore claimed he was canceled at the bidding of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and other moguls in an attempt to “silence” him because it was “too much of a risk” to let him go on performing with Sheeran.
Mackelmore called out Sheeran, who has publicly declined to take a stance on the issue – acknowledging Kraft put him in a “f–ked up situation.”
Sheeran, meanwhile, insisted the decision to remove the “Thrift Shop” rapper from his future tour dates was not his idea but “the promoter’s decision,” in a lengthy Instagram post Tuesday morning.
Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, has been an outspoken supporter for Palestinians in Gaza since the outbreak of the war following the in Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks.
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