Pink addressed Macklemore’s recent controversy amid calls from fans for the rapper be removed Ed Sheeran‘s tour about his pro-Palestinian comments on stage.
The 43-year-old musician was the opening act of Sheeran’s Loop tour at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Friday and Saturday, where he expressed support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel.
Pink, 46, reposted an Instagram Story from StopAntisemitism over the weekend, condemning Macklemore’s performance and demanding an apology to concertgoers.
“Terrible – Jewish fans bought tickets to see Ed Sheeran sing in New Jersey last night to avoid being ambushed by Macklemore’s anti-Israel propaganda,” the caption on the original post read.
Instead, Macklemore walked onto the stage in a keffiyeh, shouted ‘Free Palestine,’ accused Israel of a false ‘genocide’ and turned a mainstream event into a political nightmare against the Jewish state. Concertgoers are owed an apology and refunds.”
In response, Macklemore appeared to double down on his comments on Monday, when he posted a clip of his speech from MetLife with the caption: “Wanting all people to be treated equally should never be controversial.”
Pink, 46, weighed in on Macklemore’s, 43, recent controversy when fans called for him to be removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour due to his pro-Palestinian comments on stage
Pink did not add any additional comments beyond resharing the post.
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Pink, Macklemore and Sheeran for comment but has not yet heard back.
The full video Macklemore shared began with him standing on stage and addressing the audience.
“One of the reasons I wanted to join this tour was because I wanted to stand here on stages in stadiums across America and say two words that are very close to my heart: Free Palestine. I said: Free Palestine!’ he said to those present.
“I want these words to be loud and clear, so that people from Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank, know that we have not forgotten them.”
He then introduced his song, Hind’s Hall, stating that it was “inspired by the courage of Columbia University students who led a camp movement that mobilized the entire world.” Opened hearts, including myself.’
“So thank you to the students who risked their degrees, who risked their tuition, who risked their scholarships, who stood up and said, ‘No.’ CUAD students, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace. Thanks guys.”
He then addressed the Jewish community and said, “To all my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticizing Israel, criticizing apartheid, being against genocide is in no way a criticism of you.”
Pink reposted an Instagram story from StopAntisemitism this weekend, criticizing Macklemore’s performance and demanding an apology to concertgoers
“Terrible – Jewish fans bought tickets to see Ed Sheeran sing in NJ last night so as not to be ambushed by Macklemore’s anti-Israel propaganda,” the caption on the original post read.
In response, Macklemore appeared to double down on his comments on Monday, when he posted a clip of his speech from MetLife
“Wanting all people to be treated equally should never be controversial,” he wrote in the caption
“To all my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticizing Israel, criticizing apartheid, being against genocide is in no way a criticism of you,” he said during his set; Seen in August
The rapper is facing a boycott petition to remove him from Sheeran’s tour; Seen with Sheeran in 2013
‘My message is for peace. Love. That all people are treated with dignity, respect and equality. That is why I say: free Palestine. I say free Lebanon. I say free Cuba. I say: liberate Congo, liberate Sudan, liberate all the people in America who live in fear about this terrorist organization ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.”
The Thrift Store hitmaker has previously expressed support for the Palestinians and criticized Israel’s behavior in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
As seen in fan-shot footage, at one point during his set he wore a keffiyeh and also sang his song Hind’s Hall with images of Gaza on the huge screen behind him.
In 2024, Macklemore released Hind’s Hall, a song criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza. Proceeds from his song will go to humanitarian efforts of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
He said he had a message to share with the Palestinian people and wanted them to know that “they have not been forgotten.”
Macklemore also said, “I believe that every human being who walks this earth deserves exactly the same freedom: to know safety and peace before they know the sounds of violence.”
He now faces one petition from the Israeli-American Council which urged that he should be dropped from the remaining dates of Sheeran’s tour. The petition does not publicly reveal how many signatures have been collected so far.
The group’s petition reads: ‘This was an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest and not an activist event.’
“The issue is not whether Macklemore has the right to hold political views,” the message continued.
He was the opening act for Sheeran’s Loop tour on Friday and Saturday in New Jersey; They are pictured in 2014
“The question is where to draw the line when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda.”
Fans split on social media after the show, with some defending his on-stage war comments while others accused him of anti-Semitic rhetoric.
Sheeran has not yet publicly addressed the backlash.
In 2023, Macklemore made a surprise appearance at a pro-Palestine protest in Washington DC, joining more than 100,000 people who gathered and marched to the White House and the Capitol.
At the time, he took the stage to condemn Israel’s retaliatory actions, while admitting that he may not have been the most “qualified” person to intervene.
“They told me to be quiet, they told me to do my research, to go back, that it’s too complex to say anything, to be silent right now,” said the artist, real name Benjamin Hammond Haggerty.
“In the last three weeks I’ve gone back and done some research, I can teach… I don’t know everything, but I know enough to know this is a genocide.”
His speech came after protesters were seen waving a Hezbollah flag through the crowd, marking a somber moment when the symbol of a terrorist organization was cheered outside the White House.
Protesters attempted to scale the White House fence as the march stopped outside the Oval Office as the controversial chant of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” rang out.
In 2014, the rapper apologized after wearing a disguise on stage in Seattle that was condemned by many as an anti-Semitic Jewish caricature (pictured)
In 2014, the rapper apologized after wearing a disguise on stage in Seattle that was condemned by many as an anti-Semitic Jewish caricature.
“There is no worse feeling than being misunderstood, especially when people are hurt or offended… I respect all cultures and all people,” he wrote on his website at the time.
“I would never intentionally denigrate someone because of the fabric that makes them who they are. I love people, originality, and… I like a strange outfit every now and then.’
Macklemore added that he never thought he looked Jewish.
“Some people there thought I looked like Ringo, others thought I looked like Abe Lincoln. I thought I looked like Humpty Hump with a carved bowl.”
