Sam Smith: What is pinkwashing and why is it so offensive?

The British LGBTQ+ singer's decision to perform in Israel has caused a furore

By Hugo Greenhalgh

LONDON, April 17 (Openly) - Chart-topping popstar Sam Smith has faced a barrage of criticism following the British LGBTQ+ singer's decision to perform at a music festival in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv in May.

Critics have suggested that Smith, a five-time Grammy Award winner, is being used by Israel to "pinkwash" its international image by using support from LGBTQ+ celebrities to damp discussion about the treatment of its Palestinian minorities.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has ebbed and flowed for decades but tensions have increased since a religious-nationalist coalition came to power last year.

A spokesperson for the Israeli government's press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Why has the term pinkwashing gained currency and why is it so controversial?

Here are the details:

Why is Sam Smith's Israel concert causing uproar?

The singer is performing at the Summer in the City 2023 festival alongside fellow artists Robbie Williams and Calum Scott.

As the most high-profile performer, Smith has garnered the lion's share of criticism.

Twitter has been awash with calls for Smith, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them, to cancel their concert.

"Hey @samsmith, keep your business clean and reject Israeli pinkwashing!" wrote @AdalahJustice on Tuesday. "We call on you to stand for Palestinian freedom and cancel your show in Tel Aviv!"

The occupied West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of a future state, has seen a surge of confrontations in recent months, with frequent military raids and escalating settler violence amid a spate of attacks by Palestinians.

Creative Artists Agency, which represents Smith, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What does 'pinkwashing' mean?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term is a modern variant on the 16th-century word "whitewash", which meant to paint a building with mixture of chalked lime to make an old structure appear new.

Today, hypocrisy rather than deception is the more common accusation bandied against corporations that boost their sales by voicing support for LGBTQ+ rights - and promote specially branded drinks, clothes and accessories to celebrate June's Pride month - but then remain silent for the rest of the year.

"It's a way of giving an appearance of support for LGBTQ+ rights in a way that is disingenuous or used to distract from other issues," said Dominic Arnall, chief executive of Open For Business, a coalition of companies promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion.

"An example might be using rainbows to sell products during Pride month without doing anything more meaningful," Arnall told Openly.

Can cities and countries also be accused of pinkwashing?

Some travel destinations also engage in cynical marketing, added Jerome Bergerou, director at Out Loud, an LGBTQ-inclusive digital marketing agency.

While parts of the U.S. welcome LGBTQ+ tourists, the country also has discriminatory legislation, such as Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law that bars instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity for children in public schools.

"Florida is very open to the gay community in Key West, for example, which sees a lot of tourism dollars from the LGBT market," Bergerou said.

"But then at the same time, (the tourism marketeers) will ensure that they don't mention the law."

What are some examples of pinkwashing?

One of the highest-profile examples of firms accused of pinkwashing is the fashion giant H&M, which took flak for its "Love for all" Pride clothing range, launched in 2018.

While the collection, which included T-shirts and sequinned crop tops, was widely available in liberal Western countries, it was not on sale in 20 of H&M's 72 markets, including via its websites in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, all of which ban same-sex relations.

"It is up to each market to decide which campaigns to activate, and this can look differently from year to year and across markets," an H&M spokesperson said, declining to comment specifically on the allegation of pinkwashing.

The spokesperson added that the collection, since discontinued, raised more than 650,000 euros ($718,545) for UN Free & Equal, a United Nations campaign for LGBTQ+ rights.

The term pinkwashing is also widely used when LGBTQ+ people feel their sexuality or gender identity is being commodified as a marketing gimmick.

British retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S) faced online flak in 2019 for its much-mocked "LGBT Sandwich", where the letters stand for lettuce, guacamole, bacon and tomato, "plus a little mayo", according to its website.

M&S did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but at the time of the launch said it donated a proportion of its profits to LGBTQ+ causes.

What can companies do to counter accusations of pinkwashing?

Marketing experts are clear: put your money where your mouth is.

Out Loud's Bergerou has two pieces of advice for companies looking to tap into the LGBTQ+ market but not "be labelled as pinkwashers".

"First, is the timeframe," he said. "Don't think of it as something that the company that should just look at it for a month; it has to be a year-long strategy.
"The other thing that's very important is to build up proving the commitment and working with charities – not just adding logos to your websites."

Virgin is often cited as a company that has embedded diversity and inclusion policies within its corporate DNA.

In 2019, Richard Branson, whose Virgin Group conglomerate operates in 35 countries, said private sector businesses like his must help fight for LGBTQ+ equality around the world.

"Non-gay people have a lot to learn from the gay community, and we need to embrace it," Branson told Openly in New York.

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