Pink doubles down after criticising Macklemore for supporting Palestine while on stage
Pink has issued a statement defending her criticism of Macklemore for making a pro-palestine speech at a concert.
Onstage at an Ed Sheeran concert, rapper Macklemore said: “A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine."
Macklemore, who is known to be vocal in his support for Palestine, continued: “I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”
He added: “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.
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“So I say Free Palestine, I say Free Lebanon, I say Free Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, I say Free all people in America living in fear of this terrorist organization, ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free."
Many in the crowd cheered loudly, while others observed walking out, and he would then face a backlash on social media over his public support for Palestine, including calls for him to be removed from the Ed Sheeran tour he had been playing on.
Among the backlash was a post shared by the Instagram account StopAntisemitism which accused Macklemore of spreading 'anti-Israel propaganda' at the concert, which Pink then shared with her followers, sparking backlash against her in turn.
Now, Pink has issued a statement about the post in which she laid out her perspective on what had happened.
"Last Sunday I reposted somebody else’s post about Macklemore’s set at Ed Sheeran’s show," she wrote in a statement shared to her Instagram page.
"It said things in words I didn’t write, and I wouldn’t have chosen all of them. Then the comments came, and I did what I do when I’m hurt, which is post snarky memes and act like I’m fine. That’s on me. A repost isn’t a statement, and a meme isn’t a spine.
"Social media makes all of us cheap and fast, and we all know it. But I’d rather be disagreed with for what I actually said than hated for what anybody else wrote, so let me say it."
The statement continued: "I was born a Jew. I didn’t pick it, and I’ve never hidden it. And this week a whole lot of people decided what I believe without asking me, without checking a single thing I’ve ever said or done, because a repost and the word “Jew” were apparently enough to fill in the rest. But let me fill it in... myself.
"Of course I don’t speak for Israel, or for any government. I never have. What I said in October 2023 is still exactly what I believe: Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Palestinians deserve a future that honours their humanity and their aspirations.
"Protecting innocent life comes first, everywhere, and nobody should ever celebrate the death of a child. Anybody’s child."
Pink went on to highlight the decade that she spent as an ambassador for UNICEF, adding: "I’m not going to litigate a complex war in an Instagram caption, and I’m not going to recite anybody’s slogan to earn back a follower."
Continuing the statement in the comments, she said: "I've been portrayed as the villain before. I can take it. I just won't take it quietly, and I'm not going to teach my kids to."
Kit Roberts