US rapper Macklemore's departure from America has been delayed, the NRL says, pushing back his arrival for the weekend's grand final entertainment.
A media conference planned for Friday afternoon in Sydney had been cancelled, the NRL said in a statement.
It did not say whether it would be rescheduled.
The delay comes as conservative commentators hit out at the US star, who is set to perform his marriage equality anthem Same Love at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night, when Melbourne and North Queensland face off in the rugby league decider.
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said he did not regret choosing the rapper, labelling it one of the bravest decisions the league had made for pre-match entertainment.
The NRL and AFL have backed the yes campaign in the same-sex marriage postal survey.
Macklemore told a radio show in the US this week he had received "a lot of tweets from angry old white men" and vowed to "go harder" because of the furore.
"Imma go harder, Imma love," he told The Cruz Program.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott and right-wing independent MP Bob Katter have slammed the NRL for inviting the rapper to perform at the grand final, saying footy fans should not be subjected to a politicised grand final.
Senior coalition figure George Brandis criticised Mr Abbott for his selective backing of free speech.
"For Mr Abbott and anyone else to say that it should be banned I think is a bizarre thing to say. I thought Mr Abbott believed in freedom of speech," he told ABC TV on Thursday.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Same Love was one of the singer's top songs and the NRL backed same-sex marriage.
"What's the problem," he told the Nine Network on Friday. "I look forward to it."
