P!nk said she has mistakenly been dragged into the heated rhetoric surrounding the war between Israel and Hamas because of mistaken information about elements of her live show. “This post will be controversial for some. At this point, breathing is controversial. I am getting many threats because people mistakenly believe I am flying Israeli flags in my show. I am not,” the singer explained in a post on Sunday night (Oct. 15).
“I have been using Poi flags since the beginning of this tour. These were used many, many years ago by the Māori people in New Zealand and because they and the Māori people are beautiful to me, we use them,” she explained, adding that, “I do not fly flags in my show in support of anything or anyone except the rainbow flag. That will remain my position.”
According to media reports in New Zealand, the images of P!nk’s dancers flying blue and white “poi” flags on long poles are similar to those on YouTube of “flag poi spinning” in which users spin around while waving pieces of colorful cloth tied to flexible sticks; the segment of the show in question has been part of P!nk’s Summer Carnival Tour since the beginning of June, months before the armed wing of Hamas invaded Israel more than a week ago in a terror attack that left more than 1,300 Israelis dead and nearly 200 men, women, children and soldiers kidnapped.
“I am human. I believe in peace. Equality. Love,” added P!nk. “I am deeply saddened by the state of the world. I pray for all of us.”
P!nk recently wrapped up her 41-date stadium tour, which she hit pause on to kick off a North American arena tour in support of her Trustfall album before she heads to Australia and New Zealand in early 2024 for a stadium run.
P!nk’s post about the flag confusion came more than a week after Palestinian militant group Hamas staged a murderous assault on Israel in which more than 1,000 civilians were brutally killed in their homes — including more than 260 at a desert dance festival — leading to retaliatory strikes from Israel’s defense forces that have killed nearly 2,000 Palestinians. At press time Israel was preparing to launch a ground assault on the Gaza Strip in an effort to eradicate Hamas from the disputed territory.
See P!nk’s post below.
