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Pink Defends Criticism of Macklemore's Pro-Palestinian Concert Remarks
RePink Defends Criticism of Macklemore's Pro-Palestinian Concert Remarks
Pink is standing by her criticism of Macklemore after he performed an anti-Israel song and chanted 'Free Palestine' at a New Jersey concert, saying her repost of a critical video was not an endorsement of everything in it and that she was speaking as a Jewish mother who felt scared.
Pink is defending her decision to criticize Macklemore after he used a recent stadium concert to perform an anti-Israel song and lead repeated chants of «Free Palestine,» saying she was speaking as a Jewish mother who felt frightened by what she saw onstage.
The dispute began on Sept. 4, when Macklemore opened for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. During his set, he performed his song «Hind's Hall» while a slideshow played footage from the war in Gaza behind him, and he repeatedly chanted «Free Palestine.» The performance drew criticism from some fans, including an Instagram page called «Stop Antisemitism,» which shared a video calling the move «awful.» Pink reposted that video to her own Instagram story, setting off a wave of backlash from people who accused her of being pro-Israel.
Pink initially did not spell out her own view, but on Sept. 11 she posted an emotional statement on Instagram explaining her position. She said she had been quiet «in my own words for a week,» and that the video she reposted «said things in words I didn't write, and I wouldn't have chosen all of them.» She added that «a repost isn't a statement» and that she would rather be disagreed with for what she actually said than hated for what someone else wrote.
In the statement, Pink said she was born Jewish, did not choose it, and has never hidden it. She said many people had decided what she believes without asking her or checking anything she has said or done. She also said she does not speak for Israel or any government, and that her position since October 2023 remains unchanged: Hamas is a terrorist organization, Palestinians deserve a future that honors their humanity and aspirations, protecting innocent life comes first everywhere, and no one should celebrate the death of any child.
Pink pointed to her years of work with UNICEF and time spent with children «on both sides of that fence.» She said she would not litigate a complex war in an Instagram caption or recite anyone's slogan to win back a follower. She explained that what prompted her repost was Macklemore himself, recalling that he performed «Same Love» at the Grammys in 2014 and that she cheered the message, but that four months later he wore a hooked nose, black beard and bowl cut and called it a «random costume.» She said every Jewish person she knows understood what that was, and that although he apologized, she let it go.
She said the recent concert was different because Macklemore stood before a stadium of music-loving families with violent images from a war on the screens, dedicated a song to a movement, and then told the Jewish people in the stadium that it was not about them. «You don't get to decide that for us,» she wrote. Pink said her repost was not about «Free Palestine» or anyone's right to say it, and that she has never asked for another artist to be silenced. She said she does not need anyone fired or a refund, but needs to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, that the scene scared her and people she loves without being told her fear is propaganda.
Pink also cited her 2006 protest song «Dear Mr. President,» written in response to the Iraq War, as evidence that she has long stood up for her beliefs despite criticism. She said she has stood up for other people her whole career and knows what it costs, and that now she is standing up for her own people even though it feels lonelier than she expected. She said she can read a change in the country in her own comments, citing «From the river to the sea» and the word «Zionist» used like a slur by people who could not describe what she believes. She said she does not think most of them hate Jews, but that someone handed them a story in which a Jew who will not apologize for existing must be the villain.
She closed by telling those who are furious with her that they do not have to agree with her, and that this has been their unspoken agreement for twenty-five years. She said no one has to agree with anything Israel's government does to not want the Jewish family two rows away to be scared or targeted at a concert, which she said is the only thing she is asking for. To those who are frightened, Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian, Israeli or simply tired of it all, she said she sees them, and invited anyone who wants to know what she really thinks to ask her directly.
