A week of backlash over a repost criticizing Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian message has prompted Pink to explain where she actually stands. The singer says she mishandled the response that followed, particularly when she answered criticism with sarcastic memes, but pushed back on the assumption that supporting Jewish people means she is indifferent to Palestinians.
The controversy began after Macklemore used his opening set on Ed Sheeran’s tour at MetLife Stadium to call for a “Free Palestine” and perform “Hind’s Hall” as images from Gaza appeared behind him. His remarks drew criticism from several Jewish advocacy groups, including StopAntisemitism, which accused him of turning the concert into an anti-Israel political event. Pink later reposted the organization’s message to her Instagram Stories without adding her own explanation.
Critics quickly read the repost as an endorsement of everything StopAntisemitism had written, including its objections to Macklemore’s use of “Free Palestine” and his accusations against Israel. Pink then responded to some of the blowback with a string of memes rather than clarifying her position. She now says that only made the situation worse.
“I did what I do when I’m hurt, which is post snarky memes and act like I’m fine,” she wrote Friday (Sept. 11). “That’s on me. A repost isn’t a statement, and a meme isn’t a spine.” Pink acknowledged that she would not have chosen all of the language in the original post. She also said she would rather face disagreement over her own beliefs than continue having someone else’s words treated as hers.
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Pink Says Supporting Palestinians And Condemning Hamas Are Not In Conflict
Much of Pink’s statement dealt with the assumptions she believes people made after learning or being reminded that she is Jewish. “I was born a Jew. I didn’t pick it, and I’ve never hidden it,” she wrote. “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.”
She then returned to the position she says she has held since October 2023. Pink called Hamas a terrorist organization while also stating that “Palestinians deserve a future that honors their humanity and their aspirations.” She added that protecting innocent people should come before political allegiance and condemned celebrating the death of children on either side.
Her comments are consistent with the humanitarian work she cited in the statement. Pink has served as a UNICEF ambassador since 2015 after traveling with the organization to Haiti, where she visited programs addressing childhood malnutrition. UNICEF continues to list her as an ambassador focused on children’s health and nutrition.
She stopped short of adopting the language Macklemore used from the stage, however. “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,” Pink wrote. Moreover, Macklemore has stood by his own comments. After an Israeli-American Council petition called for his removal from Sheeran’s tour, he said his message was about equal treatment and clarified that his criticism of the Israeli government was not criticism of Jewish people.
“Of course I don’t speak for Israel, or for any government,” Pink wrote. “I never have.” She ended by saying she plans to continue speaking publicly, but in her own words rather than through reposts that leave her position open to interpretation.
