Last week, Pink was forced to cancel a previously postponed concert in England due to doctor’s orders. She’d come down with simultaneous inner ear and respiratory infections, not to mention the intestinal disaster known as rotavirus, but some fans nevertheless responded with hate. Or, as the pop star herself put it in an open letter published on Saturday (May 4), they “turn[ed] on me like rabid dogs and question[ed] the moral fabric of my character.”
Rather than shrugging off the insults, however, the woman born Alecia Beth Moore fired up the flame-thrower. First things first, she explained that the situation was out of her hands, and apologized (again) anyhow. “I had absolutely no choice in the matter, no control over the circumstances, and physically could not get my sick ass on stage … I sincerely apologize, AGAIN, for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Sincerely.”
She then mentions the hate mail she’s received and directs her words “to those of you that expect and feel entitled to perfection.” She explains that she never phones it in, never lip syncs nor relies upon dancers to carry the physical aspect of the show, which, obviously (see above), she is very involved with. “I am a human being, therefore I am able to catch illness … For the loyal and understanding fans- I am so so sorry if I’ve hurt you in any way.”
But before she signed off, the “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” singer shared a final thought: “For the rest of you- Kindly kiss my entire almost back to healthy ass.” Read the entire text of the letter below.
To all of the fans/friends/people/ticket buyers from the Birmingham show that I had to cancel: and I say “had” because I had absolutely no choice in the matter, no control over the circumstances, and physically could not get my sick ass on stage, because of an ear infection and chest infection all at the same time, and even a doctor told me I could not go on stage wether I wanted to or not: To all of you:
I sincerely apologize, AGAIN, for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Sincerely. I actually rode by the venue, and saw some of you in line, and there was not a fucking thing I could do about any of it. Except cry. My heart was absolutely broken.
I am getting a lot of hate mail from some of you, not all. But to those of you that expect and feel entitled to perfection; Have a look at my track record- please- in general- for tours past. I have an incredible record. I do not cancel and I do not take it for granted how much trouble people go to- from spending hard earned money they don’t have, to travel expenses and time and planning, etc. I take NOnE of it for granted, EVER. That’s why I never phone it in. I go on stage and pour my fucking heart and body out on that stage. I ruin my body and my vocal chords, make myself sicker, come hell or high water. I don’t lip sync, I don’t rely on dancers to do my work for me. I try to put the best show on that I can, that any human being can, and I don’t stop until I know you’re happy.
I am a human being, therefore I am able to catch illness. It is beyond my control- and I can’t apologize for that. And you know what I’ve been performing through the last week? ROTA virus. Look it up. I challenge any one of you to do what I do while sick with that. You couldn’t do it.
The fact that I don’t get the benefit of the doubt from you saddens me. There is no way I can make up this date. There isn’t a way. And for any of you that believe in me, please know we did everything we could to try to make it happen. Everything. It’s a logistical nightmare that is again, out of my control.
And guess what? I might actually get sick again on this tour. Can you imagine it? How dare I even think that? I have a two year old who is building her immune system by getting sick all over the place. And the fact that I even went on tour while being a full time mom is a miracle in itself.
The next time I schedule dates- ill have to say to myself- “if, God forbid I have to cancel one show, those fans will turn on me like rabid dogs and question the moral fabric of my character.”
For the loyal and understanding fans- I am so so sorry if I’ve hurt you in any way. For the rest of you- Kindly kiss my entire almost back to healthy ass.
Love always, Alecia the human also known as p!nk
