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Shirley Manson Defends Onstage Tirade Over Beach Ball at Melbourne Festival

Manson says she makes no apologies for calling out behavior she sees as disrespectful toward an underpaid art form.

Overview

  • During Garbage’s Dec. 5 Good Things set in Melbourne, Manson berated a festivalgoer over a beach ball, using explicit language and saying she wanted people to punch him but would not.
  • She later doubled down on Threads, writing “I make NO APOLOGIES,” expressing a long-standing dislike of beach balls and frustration with audiences taking music for free and treating artists like circus performers.
  • Video of the exchange circulated widely online and prompted a polarized reaction across social platforms and music outlets.
  • Accounts differ on who introduced the beach balls: a Music Feeds first-person piece says local musicians tossed them at Stand Atlantic’s request, while other reporting points to balls coming from Machine Head’s prior set.
  • Garbage’s Australian run continues with Good Things dates in Sydney and Brisbane plus sold-out sideshows, following what the band described as their last North American headlining tour.