Rapper Macklemore has been dropped from the remainder of Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour after making a “Free Palestine” speech at one of the “Shape of You” singer’s shows earlier this month.

“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans,” Messina Touring Group said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”

On Sept. 4, the “Thrift Shop” rapper shared his pro-Palestine beliefs — which he has been vocal about for years — with thousands of concertgoers at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

“One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” Macklemore said in a video from the concert published on his Instagram account. “I said ‘Free Palestine.’ I want those words to be loud and clear so that people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them.”

While Macklemore’s remarks were met with cheers, some patrons reportedly walked out during his performance.

His speech at the concert received wider attention after musician Pink shared a post by the group StopAntisemitism that called Macklemore’s speech “anti-Israel propaganda,” claimed he had “accused Israel of a false ‘genocide,’” and demanded Jewish audience members get refunds. It should be noted that StopAntisemitism has been accused of harassing and doxing those who speak out against Israel.

After receiving pushback from fans, Pink took to Instagram in an attempt to clarify why she shared StopAntisemitism’s post by admitting that although it “said things in words I didn’t write, and I wouldn’t have chosen all of them” she believes that “Palestinians deserve a future that honors their humanity and their aspirations” and “Hamas is a terrorist organization.”

“Protecting innocent life comes first, everywhere, and nobody should ever celebrate the death of a child. Anybody’s child,” Pink wrote. “I’ve spent a decade as a UNICEF ambassador for kids who didn’t choose the country or the war they were born into, and I have grieved every one of them, on both sides of that fence.”

Macklemore responded to getting booted from Sheeran’s tour in a lengthy statement on Instagram Monday. In it, he seemed to place the blame for his firing on one person in particular — and it wasn’t Pink or Sheeran.

Instead, he accused the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft of rallying other stadium owners to refuse Macklemore performances at their venues.

“Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”

Macklemore also said that he and Sheeran “had some difficult conversations in the past weeks” and expressed a bit of disappointment with the singer.

“Ed was in a fucked up position. He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with,” Macklemore wrote. “I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides.’”

Kraft confirmed to TMZ that he had objected to Macklemore performing in his stadium.

“Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech,” Kraft told the outlet.

“Much of my time and attention for the last decade has been focused on the fight against antisemitism and hate of all kinds,” he added, “and I feel a responsibility to stand up when I believe that line has been crossed.”

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