{"id":614090,"date":"2026-09-12T19:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T19:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/614090\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T19:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T19:00:15","slug":"pink-breaks-silence-after-macklemore-post-backlash-im-standing-up-for-my-own-peopl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/614090\/","title":{"rendered":"Pink breaks silence after Macklemore post backlash: \u2018I\u2019m standing up for my own peopl"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pink has broken her silence over the backlash she faced after sharing a post criticizing Macklemore following his call to \u201cFree Palestine\u201d during an opening set for Ed Sheeran in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

The three-time Grammy winner published a statement of more than 1,000 words on Instagram, followed by additional comments, clarifying that her criticism was not directed at the call to \u201cFree Palestine\u201d itself or at Macklemore\u2019s right, or anyone else\u2019s, to express that view. \u201cI\u2019ve been quiet in my own words for a week, which you know isn\u2019t like me. So here they are,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

\"\u05e4\u05d9\u05e0\u05e7\"<\/a>\"\u05e4\u05d9\u05e0\u05e7\"<\/p>\n

Pink <\/p>\n

(Photo: Jeff Spicer\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The controversy began after Macklemore opened for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium last Friday. Wearing a keffiyeh, the rapper performed his pro-Palestinian protest song \u201cHind\u2019s Hall\u201d as images from the war in Gaza appeared on screens behind him. During the performance, he told the crowd that one of the main reasons he wanted to join the tour was to stand in stadiums and say \u201cFree Palestine.\u201d Some audience members cheered, while others reportedly left.<\/p>\n

Pink later shared an Instagram Story from Jewish advocacy group StopAntisemitism that accused Macklemore of promoting anti-Israel propaganda and called for an apology and refunds for concertgoers.<\/p>\n

She did not initially add her own explanation, and some followers attributed the entire message to her. The backlash included personal attacks, calls to boycott her music and posts from users declaring themselves former fans.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast Sunday I reposted somebody else\u2019s post about Macklemore\u2019s set at Ed Sheeran\u2019s show. It said things in words I didn\u2019t write, and I wouldn\u2019t have chosen all of them,\u201d Pink wrote.<\/p>\n

She acknowledged that she then responded to the criticism with sarcastic memes. \u201cA repost isn\u2019t a statement, and a meme isn\u2019t a spine. Social media makes all of us cheap and fast, and we all know it,\u201d she wrote. \u201cBut I\u2019d rather be disagreed with for what I actually said than hated for what anybody else wrote, so let me say it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u05de\u05e7\u05dc\u05de\u05d5\u05e8\"<\/a>\"\u05de\u05e7\u05dc\u05de\u05d5\u05e8\"<\/p>\n

Macklemore <\/p>\n

(Photo: Andy Kropa\/Invision\/AP)<\/p>\n

Pink then explained the personal context behind her reaction. \u201cI was born a Jew. I didn\u2019t pick it, and I\u2019ve never hidden it,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAnd this week a whole lot of people decided what I believe without asking me, without checking a single thing I\u2019ve ever said or done, because a repost and the word \u2018Jew\u2019 were apparently enough to fill in the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

She stressed that she does not speak for Israel or any government and reiterated the position she said she has held since October 2023. \u201cHamas is a terrorist organization. Palestinians deserve a future that honors their humanity and their aspirations. Protecting innocent life comes first, everywhere, and nobody should ever celebrate the death of a child. Anybody\u2019s child,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Pink, who has served as a UNICEF ambassador for a decade, said she had personally met children born into war and mourned children on both sides. \u201cI\u2019m not going to litigate a complex war in an Instagram caption, and I\u2019m not going to recite anybody\u2019s slogan to earn back a follower,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Pink said her reaction was also influenced by a 2014 controversy in which Macklemore appeared onstage wearing a large prosthetic nose, a black wig and beard. Macklemore said at the time that it was a random costume, but after the appearance was condemned as resembling an antisemitic caricature, he apologized.<\/p>\n

Pink said she had moved past the episode at the time, but that his latest performance brought those memories back. She said the combination of a packed stadium, images from the Gaza war and Macklemore\u2019s message made her and other Jews feel afraid.<\/p>\n

She emphasized that she was not calling for anyone to be fired and did not want a refund. Her concern, she said, was being able to express fear as a Jewish mother without being told that fear was propaganda or that voicing it amounted to support for the killing of Palestinians.<\/p>\n

Pink also pointed to causes she has supported throughout her career, including positions that drew intense criticism, and said she had spent years standing alongside other communities. \u201cAnd now I’m standing up for my own people, and I thought I knew going in how lonely that would be. And it’s lonelier than that. But I’m doing it anyway,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

\"\u05d2\u05dc<\/a>\"\u05d2\u05dc<\/p>\n

Gal Gadot <\/p>\n

(Photo: Jesse Grant\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

She said she had noticed a broader shift in the rhetoric directed at her, pointing to comments containing \u201cfrom the river to the sea\u201d and the word \u201cZionist\u201d being used as an insult.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think most of them hate Jews,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI think somebody handed them a story where the Jew who won’t apologize for existing must be the villain, and they’ve been putting words in my mouth ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pink said she was accustomed to being cast as a villain and could withstand criticism, but would not remain silent or teach her children to do so. \u201cYou don’t have to agree with me. You never did. That’s been our unspoken agreement for twenty-five years, and it still stands, and so do I,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

She then distilled her argument to the treatment of Jewish concertgoers. \u201cYou don’t have to agree with one thing Israel’s government does to not want the Jewish family two rows down from you to be scared or targeted at a concert. That’s the only thing I’m asking anybody for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pink also addressed people on all sides who felt frightened or exhausted by the conflict. \u201cTo the ones who are frightened this week, Jewish or Muslim or Palestinian or Israeli or just tired of all of it: I see you,\u201d she wrote. \u201cAnd if anybody wants to really know what I think, just ask me. I’m right here. I’ve never been hard to find. And I’ll keep speaking out, in my own words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the thousands of responses was one from Israeli actress Gal Gadot, who expressed solidarity with Pink, told her she was not alone and wished her a loving and bright new year. The comment received more than 8,000 likes within seven hours. A competing comment declaring support for Macklemore drew a similar number.<\/p>\n

Macklemore has not apologized for his remarks at the concert. Instead, he reposted his speech on social media and argued that criticism of Israel and opposition to what he describes as genocide should not be interpreted as criticism of Jews. Sheeran has not publicly responded to the controversy.<\/p>\n

Pink ended her statement by noting that Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and that Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, would begin at sundown.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I’m going to go make dinner for my kids, light the candles, dip some apples in honey, pour a glass of wine and be full of gratitude,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThat’s my tradition. It also happens to be a Jewish one.\u201d She signed off: \u201cShana tova.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pink has broken her silence over the backlash she faced after sharing a post criticizing Macklemore following his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-614090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}