United Kingdom, Sept. 15 -- Macklemore has been dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour over controversy surrounding his "Free Palestine" plea.

The 43-year-old rapper recently hit headlines when he took to the stage to open Ed's Loop Tour at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on Friday (04.09.26), and he told the crowd: "One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages in stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine. I said, Free Palestine!"

Pink and Boy George were among those who hit out at his comments, and Macklemore has now confirmed he won't play further dates on the tour - but he isn't blaming Ed for the decision.

He wrote on Instagram: "I'...