Shirley Manson Addresses Beach Ball Comments During Garbage’s Brisbane Set

Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson has responded to headlines sparked by her rant against beach balls at Melbourne’s Good Things Festival last week, offering an on-stage apology during the band’s Brisbane performance on Sunday (Dec. 7) — while also redirecting attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“I just have to address your glorious beach balls — they’re very impressive,” Manson told the Brisbane crowd at Showgrounds.

“The only thing that kind of shocks me a little is there’s been more fuss made about me offending beach balls than there has about 20,000 Palestinian kids who are now f—ing under the dirt,” she continued.

“So whilst the Brits are busy cooking up some kind of crazy, like, antichrist rhetoric, I would just like to remind you all what’s actually important in this life.

Manson concluded the segment by softening her tone: “Maybe a beach ball brings you joy, and for that I apologise. If I upset you about your blessed beach balls, I humbly apologise. However, I would really like it if the governments of the day apologised for what the f–k is happening in Palestine.”

The moment comes after viral footage captured Manson erupting at a fan in Melbourne who repeatedly attempted to get her attention by throwing a beach ball toward the stage.

“You’re a f–king middle-aged man in a f–king ridiculous hat, and you’re a f–king f–kface,” she said at the time. “I want, literally, to ask people to f–king punch you in the f–king face. But you know what? I’m a lady, so I won’t.”

She later doubled down on social media, writing on Threads: “I joined a band because I HATED THE F–KING BEACH. I joined a band because I wanted to listen to Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure and be dark and beautiful… I am so tired of folks taking music for free and treating us all like circus performers.”

Garbage are currently on tour in Australia for the first time in nine years, playing a mix of Good Things Festival sets and sold-out sideshows in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. Their setlist includes fan favourites like “Only Happy When It Rains,” “Stupid Girl,” “Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)” and “When I Grow Up,” alongside songs from their recent albums No Gods No Masters (2021) and Let All That We Imagine Be The Light (2023).