Macklemore is accusing nine major American concert venues of refusing to host his upcoming "Free Palestine" benefit tour, saying dates that had been offered to him were withdrawn once the venues learned the shows would benefit Palestinians.

In a lengthy statement shared to Instagram on Friday, the 43-year-old rapper said his plan was to bring the tour home to the United States after three sold-out shows in Dublin, Paris and London last month. "But after weeks of reaching out, nine major American arenas have turned us down," he wrote, naming Madison Square Garden, Prudential Center, Barclays Center, UBS Arena, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, Crypto.com Arena, Chase Center and Climate Pledge Arena.

According to Macklemore, his team had received available dates at the arenas through the end of the year by mid-September. "But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table. The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same. The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues," he wrote. "In over twenty years of touring, I've never experienced anything like this."

All proceeds from the concerts will benefit 12 organizations supporting Palestinians through medical care, humanitarian assistance, education, advocacy and community programs.

A spokesperson for Madison Square Garden responded to the claim, saying: "We have some of the busiest venues in the world with extremely limited availability and he's not an arena level act." The response did not address Macklemore's central claim that dates had been offered and then withdrawn.

The dispute follows Macklemore's removal in September as a support act on Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour after he led pro-Palestinian moments from the stage. Macklemore said New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft had rallied other stadium owners to object to his participation. He closed his statement with a vow: "We will build our own stages. They may own the arenas. But they do not own the people who fill them. And they never will."