Culture
Pink Demands Macklemore Apologize For Having Opinions At A Concert
By Bruno Von Falken, . BSN Network. Satire.
Pink, born Alecia Moore, internationally recognized as a woman who does aerial acrobatics in a harness to demonstrate her refusal to conform, has this week demanded that another artist conform, specifically by apologizing for something he said into a microphone in front of thousands of people.
Macklemore, the Seattle rapper best known for winning a Grammy over Kendrick Lamar in 2014 in what remains one of the recording industry's most controversial decisions, delivered a speech at a concert expressing support for Palestinians. He has done this more than once. He is, by all available evidence, committed to the bit.
Pink's response was to reshare a post calling on Macklemore to issue an apology, which she accompanied with commentary that sources describe as "pointed" and other sources describe as "a lot."
The internet, which has opinions about everything and time for all of them, responded immediately. Supporters of Macklemore argued that an artist using a stage to speak about geopolitics is a time-honored tradition stretching from Bob Dylan to Bono to, ironically, Pink herself, who has never once been shy about what she thinks of anything. Critics of Macklemore agreed with Pink. Everyone else, the vast majority, watched the whole thing unfold the way one watches two people argue at a dinner party: fascinated, uncomfortable, and grateful not to be seated between them.
Pink then posted a clarification. Then a second clarification clarifying the first. By Thursday, she had produced what can only be described as a memoir in the Instagram Stories format, a medium that was designed for photographs of brunch.
In a statement released to press, Pink said: "I believe in free speech, I believe in the right to protest, and I also believe in accountability. I have always used my platform to stand up for what I believe in, which is exactly what I was doing, and anyone who thinks otherwise has not been paying attention to who I am."
This is the rare statement that manages to mean several contradictory things simultaneously while arriving at total confidence in all of them. It is an impressive grammatical achievement.
Macklemore, for his part, has not apologized. He has instead continued touring. He played a show in Portland on Wednesday. Ticket sales were fine.
What is genuinely interesting, and worth noting even in a week crowded with things that are genuinely interesting, is that both of these artists have built entire brands around the idea of speaking truth to power regardless of consequences. They have both released songs about this. Pink has a song called "F**kin' Perfect." Macklemore has a song called "Same Love" that he performs at every opportunity to make sure no one forgets he has it.
Two people who have spent decades telling audiences to be brave, be loud, and never apologize for who you are have now arrived at a public dispute in which one is demanding an apology and the other is refusing to give one. Somewhere in there is a thesis statement about the music industry, but it would take a longer article and a more patient writer to find it.
A spokesperson for Live Nation, the company that owns the venues where both artists perform, declined to comment, which is the only genuinely dignified response anyone has produced all week.
The story we are making fun of: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/pink-responds-backlash-macklemore-palestine-post-1235625662/