How Did Pink Get Involved in the Ed Sheeran–Macklemore Controversy?
Pink had nothing to do with Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour. She wasn’t on the bill, and she’d had little to say about Macklemore and Ed Sheeran in the years before controversy engulfed the tour. Now she’s at the center of it, after she publicly backed calls to remove the rapper from the lineup. Here’s what went down.
What is the Ed Sheeran and Macklemore controversy about?
The controversy began earlier this month at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. During his opening set, Macklemore made pro-Palestine remarks. He told the crowd that a main reason he joined the tour was to say “Free Palestine” in stadiums across America, and that he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know they had not been forgotten. He then performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall” while footage from Gaza played behind him.
Within 10 days, Macklemore was dropped from the lineup. Tour promoter Messina Touring Group said venues would not allow the concerts to go ahead with him on the bill. In his own statement, Macklemore alleged that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft rallied other stadium owners to give Sheeran an ultimatum. Macklemore claims Sheeran was told to drop him or lose venues. Neither Sheeran nor Kraft’s representatives have publicly confirmed that claim.
Sheeran has since faced the brunt of the backlash, with the tour’s other opening acts and his own band withdrawing in protest. Sheeran has said the decision to remove Macklemore was his promoter’s, not his, and that he doesn’t want to be drawn into a public political debate. He has been against bringing politics into his music for years.
How did Pink get involved?
Pink wasn’t part of the tour and wasn’t at the shows that sparked the controversy, but she weighed in on Instagram. Shortly after the MetLife concerts, she reshared a post from StopAntisemitism that criticized Macklemore’s remarks and called for his removal from the tour. The post accused Macklemore of ambushing fans with anti-Israel propaganda, rejected claims that Israel is committing genocide, and demanded an apology and refunds for ticket holders.
The reaction was swift. Critics accused Pink of backing an effort to silence an artist for supporting Palestinians, and her comment sections filled with anger. More than a week later, she responded with a lengthy post explaining why she had shared the call to drop Macklemore, calling his statements alarming to her as a Jewish woman. She conceded, however, that the reshared post contained language she would not have chosen herself. The response did little to win over her critics.
In the days since, Pink has been pulled further into the controversy. According to The Independent, actor Javier Bardem used his social media to promote a Change.org petition calling for Pink’s removal as a UNICEF ambassador, a role she has held since 2015. As of press time, the petition had more than 180,000 signatures.
