American rapper Macklemore has been dismissed as Ed Sheeran's opener on the US leg of his tour after saying "free Palestine" and other comments at a show in New Jersey.
The 43-year-old from Seattle delivered the remarks at his first appearance on the Loop tour on September 4.
"A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: 'Free Palestine'," he said in a two-minute speech.
A spokesperson for Messina Touring Group told Rolling Stone that "as the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup."
The rapper best known for hits Thrift Shop, Can't Hold Us and These Days, confirmed this morning on social media that he had been dismissed from the remainder of Sheeran's tour.
Macklemore explained that the decision came after a week of "difficult conversations" with Sheeran, a friend of 13 years whom he considered a "brother".
He ended his lengthy, multi-page post by reiterating his call to "free Palestine".
"If those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on," he wrote.
The comments spurred the group StopAntisemitism to accuse the musician of "ambushing" fans with "anti-Israel propaganda" in an Instagram post that was amplified by the singer Pink.
In recent years, pro-Palestine advocacy has become a central issue for Macklemore, who has given speeches at political rallies and released songs supporting college protestors.
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