Pink vows to ‘keep speaking out’ despite backlash over Macklemore’s Palestine scandal

Pink spoke out in a lengthy essay following backlash over her reposting a critique of rapper Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech.

In her post, she vowed to “continue to speak out” and said she would not tolerate being “quietly portrayed as a villain.”

The Same Love hitmaker, real name Ben Haggerty, opened for Ed Sheeran’s New Jersey tour over the weekend and used his stage to talk about Israel and Palestine. He later shared a video of the moment with the caption: “The desire for all people to be treated equally should never be controversial.”

Pink, real name Alicia Beth Moore-Hart, then posted @Stop_AntiSemitism to her Instagram story without adding any comments of her own.

The post said: “Terrible! Last night in New Jersey, Jewish fans bought tickets to see Ed Sheeran perform to avoid being ambushed by Macklemore’s anti-Israel propaganda. Instead, McLemore took the stage wearing a keffiyeh, shouted “Free Palestine,” accused Israel of false “genocide,” and turned a massive event into a political nightmare against the Jewish state. Concert goers need to apologize and refund @teddysphotos – this is unacceptable.”

At the same time, the Israeli American Council launched a petition calling on Sheeran to remove the Hinds Hall musician from the remainder of the tour. McLemore’s lyrics, set to the tune of the 2024 protest, condemn Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip.

While Pink didn’t explicitly respond to the uproar over the issue, she did repost a few memes and quotes on her page hinting at her worldview.

Now she’s broken her silence, admitting it’s “not the same.” [her]’ to keep quiet.

Taking to social media this evening, the 47-year-old Grammy winner began: “Last Sunday I reposted someone else’s post about Macklemore performing on the Ed Sheeran Show. It talked about things I didn’t write, and I wouldn’t have chosen them all. Then the comments came and I did what I do when I’m hurt: I posted sarcastic memes and acted like I was fine. It’s my fault.

She argued that “a repost is not a statement and a meme is not a spine,” acknowledging that “social media makes us all cheap and fast and we all know it.”

“But I’d rather be disagreed with for what I actually said than hated for something someone else wrote, so let me say this.”

She continued: “I was born Jewish. I didn’t choose it and I never hid it. And this week, too many people have decided what I believe without asking me, without checking anything I’ve ever said or done, because a repost and the word “Jew” were apparently enough to make up the rest. But let me fill this in… myself.

Her essay, over 1,000 words long, then stated that she “does not speak on behalf of Israel or any government.” Referring to the 2023 comments, she reiterated her position that “Palestinians deserve a future that respects their humanity and their aspirations.”

Having been a UNICEF ambassador for ten years and visiting war-torn countries, she said that “the protection of innocent lives comes first, everywhere, and no one should ever celebrate the death of a child.”

“I’m not going to discuss a complex war in an Instagram caption, and I’m not going to repeat anyone else’s slogan to get followers back.”

Explaining what she was actually “reacting” to with her original reposts, she recalled attending the 2014 Grammy Awards when Macklemore performed. She applauded his LGBTQ+ anthem, “no questions asked.”

However, she said that four months later, “McLemore donned a hooked nose, a black beard and a bowl cut, performed in it and called it a ‘casual suit.’

“Every Jew I know knew exactly what it was. That same love, it turns out, had a guest list and we weren’t on it,” she noted, referring to the public outrage and accusations of anti-Semitism that Macklemore caused by dressing at a surprise concert in Seattle because he looked like a caricature of Jewish people.

He initially called the outfit “random” but later apologized for not having anticipated its interpretation. Pink then “let it go,” admitting, “Because that’s what we do.” We let it go.”

“Then, last weekend,” she continued, “he stood in front of a stadium full of music-loving families, with brutal images of war on the screens, dedicated a song to the movement of his choice, and then took the microphone to tell all the Jews in the stadium that this is not about them.

“It’s not for you to decide this for us.”

In his speech to the crowd last weekend, McLemore addressed “everyone [his] Jewish Brothers and Sisters,” insisting that his “criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, speaking out against genocide is in no way a criticism of you.”

Pink added that her feelings about his remarks prompted her to repost.

“I have never asked to silence another artist and I don’t ask now. I don’t need anyone fired and I don’t need a refund,” she said. “What do I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, ‘this scared me and it scared the people I love,’ without saying that our fear is just propaganda, and without saying that I’m cool with genocide because I noticed it?”

Her caption also responded to criticism when she asked, “Please don’t talk to me like I never stood up for my beliefs when they were unpopular,” referencing her activism through songs like “Dear Mr. President,” anti-war views, and supporting LGBTQ+ people no matter what it takes.

“And now I’m protecting my people, and I thought I knew how lonely it would be. And it’s even more lonely. But I still do it,” she said.

The performer concluded by explaining that she noticed a “change” in her comments, with people “not being able to tell you the details of what happened.” [she] believes,” beginning to “put words in his mouth.”

“But I used to be portrayed as a villain. I can accept this. I’m just not going to take it in stride and I’m not going to teach it to my kids.”

She then told those who were “furious” with her that they “don’t have to agree”, calling it an “unspoken agreement for 25 years”.

“You don’t have to agree with anything the Israeli government does to not want the Jewish family two rows away from you to be scared or targeted at a concert. That’s the only thing I ask of anyone. To those who are scared this week, Jews, Muslims, Palestinians, Israelis or just tired of it all: I see you,” she said.

“And if anyone really wants to know what I think, just ask me. I’m here. I’ve never been hard to find. And I will continue to speak in my own words.”

Earlier this week, McLemore said the speech he gave on stage was not intended as an attack on the Jewish community after the petition criticized him for “using the stage to convey an extended political message” by Hinds-Hall while images of Gaza were shown.

The council said the concert was “not a political rally, protest or activist event.”

Sheeran himself has not publicly called for him to abandon the opening of his tour.

Representatives for Macklemore have been contacted for comment.

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