Last week, Garbage singer Shirley Manson gave an onstage rant after spotting someone in the crowd with a beach ball during the band’s set at Good Things Festival in Melbourne. At Garbage’s next show on Sunday, several fans responded by filling the crowd with beach balls of their own.
These concertgoers at the Brisbane leg of the traveling festival succeeded in drawing a response from Manson. After pointing out that the incident drew more headlines than the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, she apologized to those who get “joy” out of hitting beach balls at shows.
Get Garbage Tickets Here
“I just have to address your glorious beach balls — they’re very impressive,” she said (via Rolling Stone AU/NZ). “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 fucking under the dirt.”
Related Video
Manson 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. Maybe a beach ball brings you joy, and for that I apologize. If I upset you about your blessed beach balls, I humbly apologize. However, I would really like it if the governments of the day apologized for what the fuck is happening in Palestine.”
During the original beach ball incident, Manson called out a concertgoer “with a big fucking beach ball” and called him a “fucking douchebag.” In a follow-up post on Threads, she added, “I joined a band because I HATED THE FUCKING BEACH. I joined a band because I wanted to listen to Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure and be dark and beautiful. Continue listening to Spotify and toss your stupid beach balls around like you are ten years old.”
In May, Manson reposted a statement from Macklemore expressing solidarity with artists who have used their platform to publicly speak out against the war in Gaza
The festival gigs were Garbage fans’ last opportunity to bring beach balls to outdoor shows, as the band’s handful of upcoming dates in Australia are in theaters and the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.
@pieta_nancy
Brisbane didn’t disappoint #beachball #garbage #brisbane #goodthings
♬ original sound – Nance
@sarahmcsearle
Shirley manson on a rant #garbage #goodthingsfestival #goodthingsfestival2025 #shirleymanson #musicfestival worst time I have ever seen garbage live big fan of the band have been for 30 years. Had show my son a video of their concerts back in the day
♬ original sound – Sarah Searle
