Javier Barded Faces Backlash Over UNICEF Petition to Drop Pink

Actor Javier Bardem has thrown himself into a messy fight over Pink, Macklemore, and the Israel-Gaza war, and he is now facing heat for it.

The star of No Country for Old Men posted to his Instagram Stories Monday, asking fans to sign a Change.org petition that wants UNICEF to drop Pink as an ambassador. Reuters reports she shared multiple updates about the drive.

The petition carries the title Remove Pink as a UNICEF Ambassador and asks the group to fire the singer from her role.

Supporters say Pink's remarks do not fit the job of a UNICEF Ambassador. They argue ambassadors should push for peace, understanding, and humanitarian values instead of personal biases.

The drive tells UNICEF to take decisive action and remove Pink, insisting the agency must care for all children no matter their nationality or heritage.

Bardem's choice sparked pushback from fans and other celebrities who asked why he was helping strip her title after comments she made regarding Macklemore's pro-Palestinian concert appearance.

Michael Rapaport fired back with one of the sharpest replies, calling Bardem a tattletale and accusing him of attacking Pink via a petition rather than speaking to her face-to-face.

He wrote in an Instagram caption that Javier Bar-Dumb Dumb started, signed, and is pushing the petition to remove singer PINK as a UNICEF Ambassador. He called it bullying a proud Jewish woman.

Rapaport said in his video that Javier Bardem is acting like a little tattle-tale. He pointed out both are grown, world-famous people. If you have a problem with what she said, call her. Sit down, grab coffee, look her dead in the face, and voice your frustrations. Instead, he signed a petition to remove her like a little b----.

Selma Blair joined the debate in the comments, asking why anyone would want this great person removed from UNICEF for human, humble, and loving words. She called it nonsense and said an incredible actor should worry about his own life more. She urged him to allow love to flow and listen to everyone, not just his echo chamber. But alas, she wrote.

Social media users also questioned Bardem's decision to push for her removal over her comments. One commenter admitted they were not a big Pink fan but noted she made ads for Big Pharma pushing the vax during covid. They asked who Bardem is to cancel her and added that the left is eating itself.

Some supporters of Bardem's stance weighed in on the petition as well. One wrote that Pink chose her rich friends' discomfort over people's lives. Another said if UNICEF does not stand with Gaza now and remove Pink, then the world becomes a much darker place. A third argued no ambassador can highlight important issues while actively ignoring and deliberately misunderstanding conditions in Palestine. They added Pink has shown herself incapable of acknowledging what is clear to the world and is not fit for UNICEF. Another questioned how she could remain an advocate while failing to support basic human rights and free speech for all people, especially those in Gaza, Sudan, and the Congo.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bardem, UNICEF, and Pink for comment but has not received a reply yet.

Macklemore has handed over $1 million to aid groups helping Palestinians, a move coming right after the storm surrounding his stop on Ed Sheeran’s tour. The trouble started at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, back on September 4. A petition pushed by actor Javier Bardem highlighted how Pink responded to Macklemore taking the stage with Sheeran that night. During the set, he sang "Hind's Hall," a track meant to support Palestinians, while chanting "Free Palestine" over and over again as photos of Gaza flashed on the giant screen behind him.

The performance didn't go unnoticed by critics. The @Stop_Antisemitism Instagram account jumped in, calling the show an attempt to push anti-Israel propaganda. Pink felt compelled to repost that criticism before launching into her own long explanation online. "I've been quiet in my own words for a week, which you know isn't like me. So here they are," she wrote on social media. She laid bare part of her history: "I was born a Jew," she continued. "I didn't pick it, and I've never hidden it."

Pink made clear where she stood on the conflict itself. "Of course I don't speak for Israel, or for any government. I never have," she wrote. "What I said in October 2023 is still exactly what I believe: Hamas is a terrorist organization. Palestinians deserve a future that honors their humanity and their aspirations. Protecting innocent life comes first, everywhere, and nobody should ever celebrate the death of a child. Anybody's child." She pointed to her decades of work with UNICEF, noting she had spent time with children on both sides of the line dividing Gaza from Israel. "I'm not going to litigate a complex war in an Instagram caption," she said. "And I'm not going to recite anybody's slogan to earn back a follower."

She pivoted to address Macklemore directly, explaining what truly sparked her repost. She recalled him performing his hit song "Same Love" at the Grammys in 2014 and how she cheered for that message of equality. Then, four months later, he showed up with a hooked nose, a black beard, and a bowl cut. He performed it and called it a random costume. Every Jew she knows knew exactly what it meant to wear that look. The same love she supported apparently had an exclusive guest list she wasn't invited to. But he apologized then, and she let it go because that is how people move on. Then last weekend changed everything. He stood before a stadium full of music-loving families while violent images from a war filled the screens behind him. He dedicated a song to a movement of his own choosing and then grabbed the microphone to tell all the Jews in the crowd that the night wasn't about them.

"You don't get to decide that for us," she added. "That's what prompted my repost." She emphasized her stance: it was not about silencing anyone shouting "Free Palestine" or denying their right to speak. She has never asked another artist to be shut down, and she isn't asking now. She doesn't want anyone fired or demand a refund for tickets bought. What she needs is the ability to say, as a Jewish mom, that it scared her and it scared people she loves. That fear shouldn't be dismissed as just propaganda or ignored with a question like, "You noticed? Does that make you cool with genocide?"

The tension around Macklemore's appearance didn't fade after the MetLife show ended. He later posted a video on Instagram addressing the crowd directly. He said performing on Sheeran's tour gave him a chance to deliver his message about Palestine to a massive audience. In the caption, he doubled down, writing that wanting all humans treated equally should never be controversial. But the backlash kept growing until venues told the tour's promoters they would not allow a concert to happen with Macklemore on the lineup. He was dropped from the tour altogether.