Ed Sheeran‘s North Texas tour stop is going to look a bit different.
The English singer dropped Macklemore from his Loop Tour following backlash to the rapper for saying “Free Palestine” and other statements in support of Palestinians during Sept. 4 and 5 shows at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Macklemore addressed the situation in a statement on social media. He said Sheeran’s decision came after Kraft Group CEO Robert Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, called the “Shape of You” singer to tell him Macklemore would not be allowed to play at his venue.
“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 wrote.
Messina Touring Group, the promoter for Sheeran’s tour, corroborated that explanation in a statement to Rolling Stone: “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. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
The Loop Tour is scheduled to play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Oct. 24. The venue, which is owned by the city of Arlington but operated by Jerry Jones’ Dallas Cowboys, was allegedly among those to object to Macklemore’s continued presence on the tour, according to Rolling Stone. The tour began in January in New Zealand and concludes in Mexico City in December after legs in the U.S. and South America.
AT&T Stadium did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Dallas Morning News.
Despite being dropped from the tour, Macklemore reiterated his support for Palestine and stood by his onstage actions in his social media post.
“Who is winning the internet, who is getting canceled, who gets to play the stadium and who doesn’t, all of it becomes so small when held against what we are actually witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank,” he wrote. “I didn’t need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say. Free Palestine. But 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.”
Read Macklemore’s full statement here: