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Macklemore has called out the 50 peers who urged the Home Secretary to ban him from Britain ahead of his Free Palestine tour.
The 43-year-old, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, addressed the letter written to Shabana Mahmood during Friday night’s London stop on his sold-out benefit tour.
In the letter, the Government’s former adviser on political violence, Baron Walney, claimed the concert was ‘not conducive to the public good’.
Metro attended the show, where Macklemore spoke to his cheering crowd about feeling unable to stay silent on Israel’s brutal military action in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and levelled much of the Gaza Strip.
Macklemore also briefly mentioned the attempt to block his appearance, saying on stage at Wembley Arena: ‘This is the story tonight of love. Regardless of what them 50 Lords have to say, this is a story of equality for all human beings around this earth.
‘So we came here to focus on love. We came here to celebrate life. We came here to be in solidarity and we came here to remind one another of our light.’
Referring to the ‘journey’ he wanted to go on with the crowd through the evening, he added: ‘We’re going to take you guys back to an anti-capitalist anthem,’ before his 2012 hit Thrift Shop started playing.
At other points during Friday night’s gig, Macklemore was joined onstage by supporters including singer Paloma Faith and activist Greta Thunberg, who delivered a speech about what more still needs to be done to support Palestine.
‘Do not for one second think that you have done enough by attending a benefit concert or by donating money, because the occupation will not end by philanthropy and slogans,’ she said.
‘We can change all the hearts and minds in the world, but that has to be paired with actual policy change in a way that actually challenges our extremely violent status quo.’
Macklemore kicked off his Free Palestine tour in Dublin earlier this week, where he was joined by the likes of Hozier and Kneecap.
The Free Palestine tour comes after Macklemore was dropped as an opening act for Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour last month, amid alleged pressure from billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft, who has been a longtime supporter of Israel.
Every other artist on Sheeran’s tour subsequently quit in solidarity with Macklemore.
The Grammy-winning musician then announced the Free Palestine tour, which he has said ‘sold out immediately’ after going on sale last month.
The shows have aimed to help provide humanitarian aid and support for people in Palestine, with all proceeds going towards a number of organisations working in support of Palestinian people, providing medical care, humanitarian assistance, education, community support and advocacy.
Those organisations include Anera, Glia, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Taawon, Heal Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement, Middle East Children’s Alliance, Jewish Voice for Peace, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Institute for Middle East Understanding, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and UNRWA USA.