Pink says Macklemore’s onstage remarks, not ‘Free Palestine,’ prompted her post

Pop star Pink broke her silence Friday over the backlash she received for amplifying calls for Macklemore to be dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour, saying in a lengthy social media statement that she was reacting to the rapper’s onstage remarks to Jewish concertgoers rather than his pro-Palestinian message itself.

The singer, born Alecia Moore, had reposted an Instagram Story from the advocacy group StopAntisemitism last weekend accusing Macklemore of using his opening slot on Mr. Sheeran’s Loop Tour to push “anti-Israel propaganda” and calling for ticket refunds. The repost came after Macklemore, whose legal name is Benjamin Haggerty, told crowds at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, that he wanted to say “Free Palestine” from the stage, then performed his 2024 protest song “Hind’s Hall” as images from the Gaza war played on screen.

Ms. Moore, who is Jewish, said in her statement that what actually drove her to speak up was Mr. Haggerty’s follow-up remarks addressing the backlash, in which he told the crowd his message wasn’t aimed at Jews as a group. “You don’t get to decide that for us,” she wrote, according to the post. 

“Of course I don’t speak for Israel, or for any government. I never have. What I said in October 2023 is still exactly what I believe: Hamas is a terrorist organization,” she said, adding that Palestinians “deserve a future that honors their humanity.” 

Ms. Moore also drew a line to Mr. Haggerty’s 2014 Grammys performance of “Same Love,” which she said she cheered without reservation, contrasted with a costume she said he wore months later — one widely criticized as an antisemitic Jewish caricature — that he subsequently apologized for. She wrote that she let that incident go but that it colored how she now hears his stage remarks.

Mr. Haggerty has stood by his comments. At a later MetLife performance, he told the audience, “criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you,” addressing what he called his “Jewish brothers and sisters.” The Israeli-American Council has circulated a petition calling on Mr. Sheeran to remove Mr. Haggerty from the tour’s remaining dates, arguing the concert was not “a political rally.” Mr. Sheeran has not publicly addressed the dispute, and Mr. Haggerty remains on the bill.

Ms. Moore’s statement, posted in two parts on Instagram, drew a sharply divided response before she restricted commenting on the post — reporting differs on whether comments were disabled entirely or only limited — a move that also removed the second half of her explanation from public view, though the full text continued to circulate. She closed her statement by noting it fell on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, writing that she planned to “go make dinner for my kids, light the candles” for the holiday.