Ed Sheeran has told fans in Philadelphia that he's "honestly so grateful" for their support in his first concert since Macklemore's removal from his tour.
All of Sheeran's support acts - including his backing band - have quit the current tour after the US rapper was dropped, following comments he made in support of Palestine during a show in New Jersey.
Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft barred the rapper from performing in the Massachusetts venue, saying he would not "provide a platform for hate speech".
Sheeran was consequently forced to play a solo set at the Lincoln Financial Field Stadium on Saturday, and he began the concert by addressing the week's events.
He said: "I've had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes and I'm so, so sorry for them.
"I don't want to disappoint fans, and I've never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet."
Sheeran insisted that he has tried to avoid becoming a "political commentator" during his career, and that he wants his music to be "about unity, not division".
He added: "This is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide about how I feel about it anymore.
"What happened in Israel and at the Nova music festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.
"What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians' lives, children's lives."
Sheeran went on to thank fans for coming to the show.
He added: "I am honestly so grateful that you're here tonight with me.
"This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing views, and everyone can stand beside people that they don't agree with on everything, but they can all agree on singing these songs."
Sheeran's ongoing Loop tour began in Auckland, New Zealand, in January.
It will finish in Mexico City in December, with 16 other shows still scheduled across North and South America.
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The other acts who dropped out include Irish singer Aaron Rowe, Grammy award-winning musician Finneas, who is Billie Eilish's brother, and Danish singer Lukas Graham.
The start time for Saturday's show was pushed back from 5.30pm local time to 8pm and a small pro-Palestine protest was also held outside the subway station closest to the stadium.
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