Ed Sheeran apologized to his fans for the “mistakes” he has made. He made these remarks at his first concert after McLemore was removed from his tour due to what he said in support of Palestinians on stage.

The singer began his concert in Philadelphia by addressing a controversy that has since involved his tour and has led all the artists who were supposed to perform before him on stage to withdraw from continuing the collaboration.

The singer said that the decision to drop McLemore was taken not by him but by the event organizers. The controversy caused ticket prices to drop and ticket sales for the remaining part of his “-” tour in the United States to fall.

Sheeran told those in attendance that although he is used to being criticized for his music, “this week the criticisms were about something much more important, and I had to make difficult decisions, and I also made mistakes in making those decisions, and really, really, I’m sorry.”

He said he wants to “answer the question of where I stand on the situation of Israel and Palestine, and whether holding this concert tonight here shows what my position is or not.”