India, Nov. 7 -- Madison Square Garden has rejected Macklemore's claim that it refused to host his planned "Free Palestine" US tour because of its political message. The organization however said on Friday that the rapper is "not an arena level act" and citing limited venue availability.

Macklemore alleged on Friday that nine major US arenas, including Madison Square Garden (MSG), declined to host his proposed benefit tour after learning it would raise money for Palestine. The Grammy-winning rapper said the venues became unwilling to proceed because of the "Free Palestine" branding.

"We live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech. Yet we've reached a point where a handful of billionaires can decide which causes are accepta...