Pink breaks silence after sharing calls for Macklemore to be dropped from Ed Sheeran tour over anti-Israel acts

Pink has broken her silence over the backlash surrounding her criticism of rapper Macklemore, saying she was speaking from a place of fear as a Jewish woman and mother.

The singer faced heavy criticism after sharing a social media post calling for Macklemore to be dropped as support act on Ed Sheeran’s current US tour over pro-Palestinian comments he made to packed stadiums.

Macklemore has performed his pro-Palestinian song Hind’s Hall while supporting Sheeran, with footage of the war in Gaza displayed on screens behind him.

The rapper has also used his performances to criticise Israel’s actions in Gaza and urge audiences to support Palestinians.

In a lengthy Instagram statement posted to Instagram, Pink acknowledged she should have used her own words rather than reposting someone else’s message.

Pink said her response was not prompted by Macklemore’s support for Palestine, but his words aimed at Jews considering what she suggested is his history of antisemitism, including when he performed in a “hooked nose, a black beard and a bowl cut” in 2014.

Macklemore claimed the outfit was simply a “random costume” but Pink said in her post, “Every Jew I know knew exactly what it was”.

The pop star took issue with the rapper delivering his pro-Palestine message “with violent images from a war on the screens” and taking the mic “to tell all the Jews in the stadium that it wasn’t about them.”

Pink said Macklemore doesn’t get to decide if Jews feel targeted by his condemnation of Israel.

“That’s what prompted my repost. Not ‘Free Palestine’, and not anyone’s right to say it,” she stated.

“I have never asked for another artist to be silenced and I’m not asking now.”

Pink, who is Jewish, said she wanted to be able to express her fear without being accused of supporting the war in Gaza.

“What I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, ‘that scared me, and it scared people I love’, without being told our fear is just propaganda, and without being told I’m somehow cool with genocide because I noticed?”

The singer also reiterated her position on the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying Hamas is a terrorist organisation while Palestinians deserve a future that respects their humanity.