LONDON: Ed Sheeran has lost almost half-a-million Instagram followers in a week as the fallout continues over Macklemore’s removal from the British singer’s US tour following the rapper’s pro-Palestinian remarks.

The controversy has also drawn in other celebrities, with Spanish actor Javier Bardem sharing an online petition calling for Pink to be removed as a UNICEF ambassador over her response to Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” message.

Sheeran’s Instagram account lost almost 150,000 followers on Sept. 15, when he first publicly addressed Macklemore’s removal from the Loop Tour, followed by another 150,000 the next day and 98,000 a day later, according to Social Blade data cited by The Independent.

By Tuesday, his follower count had fallen to 47.2 million, a decline of almost 500,000 in one week.

The losses come amid mounting fallout from Macklemore’s removal from the remaining US dates of Sheeran’s tour after the rapper used performances at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium earlier this month to express support for Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and declare “Free Palestine.”

Macklemore said several venues had refused to host shows if he remained on the bill, including Gillette Stadium, whose owner, Robert Kraft, had objected to his appearance.

The decision triggered withdrawals by Sheeran’s other support acts and backing band, while pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside his first concert without Macklemore in Philadelphia last week.

Addressing fans at the Sept. 19 show, Sheeran apologized for his handling of the controversy and said he had been forced to make difficult decisions.

Sheeran also addressed the war more directly, describing Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza as “catastrophic, unjustifiable and disproportionate,” and criticizing what he called systemic injustice in the occupied West Bank.

The controversy has also spread beyond Sheeran’s tour.

Bardem, a vocal supporter of Palestinians, shared several posts on Instagram promoting a Change.org petition calling for Pink to lose her role as a UNICEF ambassador after she reposted criticism of Macklemore’s performance.

The petition, launched on Sept. 11, had gathered more than 179,000 signatures by Wednesday. Its organizers argue that Pink’s response to Macklemore is incompatible with the responsibilities of a UNICEF ambassador. UNICEF has not announced any change to her status.

Pink, who has served as a UNICEF ambassador since 2015, had shared a post from the group StopAntisemitism that criticized Macklemore’s performance as “anti-Israel propaganda” and disputed his characterization of Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.

She later clarified that she did not agree with all the language in the post she had shared and said her objection was not to the phrase “Free Palestine” nor Macklemore’s right to express it.

Pink said she had never called for another artist to be silenced and expressed support for the humanity and aspirations of Palestinians, while saying aspects of Macklemore’s performance had frightened some Jewish audience members.