What started as a change to an opening act somehow turned into one of the biggest music conversations of the month.

After days of artists dropping out of his Loop Tour and questions surrounding Macklemore’s removal, Ed Sheeran has finally addressed the situation publicly.

During his Philadelphia show, Sheeran spoke about Gaza, describing the situation there as “catastrophic and unjustifiable,” while also addressing the controversy surrounding his tour.

The drama began after Macklemore was removed from upcoming dates following pro-Palestinian comments onstage. Sheeran has said the decision wasn’t his and came from the tour promoter.

Then came the domino effect.

FINNEAS, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga all pulled out of upcoming dates, with several citing the situation surrounding Macklemore and Palestine.

Despite basically losing his support lineup, Sheeran has made one thing clear: the tour is continuing.

What started with one artist leaving the lineup has now become a much bigger conversation about Palestine, artists speaking politically onstage and how much control venues and promoters should have over what performers can say.

This tour was supposed to be about the music.

It has become about a lot more than that.