Gaza Genocide22 September, 20262 min read
Javier Bardem Urges Change.org Petition To Remove Pink As UNICEF Ambassador
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Javier Bardem shared posts urging Pink's removal as UNICEF ambassador amid Macklemore controversy. Change.org petition to oust Pink has about 138,000–160,000 signatures.
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UNICEF ambassador backlash
Spanish actor Javier Bardem shared posts in his Instagram stories encouraging people to sign a Change.org petition to have singer Pink removed as a UNICEF ambassador, and the petition had more than 150,000 signatures.
A Change.org petition calling for UNICEF to strip Pink of her role as a Goodwill Ambassador amassed 138,000 signatures, as the controversy traced back to Sep. 4-5 when Macklemore, opening for Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, told the crowd he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
Pink reposted an Instagram Story from the advocacy group StopAntisemitism criticizing the rapper's performance and calling for refunds for concertgoers, without adding commentary of her own, and the post accused Macklemore of exposing Jewish fans to anti-'Israel' propaganda.
Pink later published a lengthy statement saying she had been hurt by the backlash but would "keep speaking out," and she referenced her decade as a UNICEF ambassador while saying she has grieved children lost "on both sides of that fence."
Ed Sheeran and tour fallout
Ed Sheeran described what is happening in Gaza as "catastrophic, unjustifiable, and disproportionate," and he said he was "deeply pained by the magnitude of the devastation and the loss of civilian lives and children." Pink took to social media to decry rapper Macklemore’s comments on Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, and the petition called for Pink’s removal from her UNICEF USA role.
Ed Sheeran offered his first US concert in Philadelphia after the controversy about Macklemore's exclusion from his tour, and the American opener was his support act and was banned for pro-Palestinian remarks from the Loop Tour stage in England. Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran’s tour after backlash from pro-Israel groups like the Anti-Defamation League and pressure from billionaire Robert Kraft, and other opening acts and even Sheeran’s backing band dropped out in solidarity with Macklemore.
Pressure on UNICEF
The petition organizers Swifties Against Genocide said Pink’s remarks sidelined concern for Palestinian children and "fueled ongoing conflict and struggles for visibility and empathy," and they argued UNICEF ambassadors must meet standards of neutrality and compassion.
Hot 97 said the petition does not represent a decision by UNICEF, and it reported that the organization has not announced Pink’s removal.
Democracy for the Arab World Now advocacy director Raed Jarrar said, "Pink should step down. UNICEF itself has called Gaza a graveyard for children," and he said, "Whether UNICEF removes her or not, it’s time for her to step down."
Aporrea said the petition surpassed the threshold of 153,000 verified signatures with the intent of demanding the immediate dismissal of American singer Pink from her post as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and it framed the campaign as accusing Pink of breaking humanitarian neutrality and universal compassion principles.