Garbage’s principled singer Shirley Manson used a wry apology for her viral beach ball incident at Good Things 2025 to remind the crowd about the serious humanitarian crisis currently happening in Palestine.
For the few people still unaware, the Scottish rocker made headlines around the world over the weekend following an incident at the Melbourne leg of Good Things on Friday (December 5th).
Manson didn’t take kindly to seeing a large inflated beach ball being passed around the crowd during Garbage’s set. “Big guy with your big fucking beach ball! Ooh, I’m so scared of you, so thrilled by you! What a fucking douchebag!” she shouted.
“We’re fed up of not getting fucking paid properly and fed up of having to play for douchebags like you. You’re a fucking middle-aged man in a fucking ridiculous hat, and you’re a fucking fuckface. And I want, literally, to ask people to fucking punch you in the fucking face. But you know what? I’m a lady, so I won’t.”
Read more: Tool, Weezer & Garbage Dominate Good Things Melbourne
Never one to be deterred by public opinion, Manson doubled down on her crowd comments on social media after their set, posting on Threads she would make “NO APOLOGIES” for the beach ball incident.
On the final day of Good Things 2025, Manson addressed the Brisbane crowd who had, unsurprisingly, brought along some beach balls to gauge the musician’s reaction.
“I just have to address your glorious beach balls, they’re very impressive!” Manson initially joked. “And not only are they impressive but they are very, very big.”
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Her jovial tone quickly changed though. “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,” 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.
“And 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 fuck is happening in Palestine.”
@pieta_nancy Garbage apology #beachball #garbage #brisbane #goodthings
Manson has long used her platform to speak out for the Palestinian people.
Back in May, Macklemore and Manson shared a statement on social media in which they vocally supported fellow artists who used their platform to raise awareness of the situation in Gaza.
“With 290,000 kids intentionally being starved to death right now in Gaza, they’re going after the ARTISTS that are saying ‘This is wrong’,” their statement began. “In a desperate attempt, they aim to villainise & silence musicians by cancelling shows, pulling them from festival line ups and warning others- this is what happens when you speak up.”
The statement continued: “Artists and humans that regardless of the consequences, prioritise collective liberation over self-preservation, and use their platform to reach hearts. Not on some hero shit. Not on some saviour shit. But simply as people with compassion, love and empathy watching a genocide and refusing to be silent.
Elsewhere during Garbage’s final Good Things set, Manson took a moment to remember the late, great Michael Gudinski, who played a pivotal role in the development of the band’s career.
“Michael is solely responsible for our entire career, essentially… He’s not far from our thoughts as we progress through our Australian and New Zealand tour,” Manson told the crowd.
“To be able to return to sacred, stunning New Zealand and to Australia – the home country of our most beloved music business guru, Michael Gudinski – is an immense thrill for us as a band,” Manson previously said when their Australia and New Zealand tour was announced. “We have been aching to return to this part of the world for a long time now and this tour will be played every night in Gudinski’s honour.”
When Rolling Stone AU/NZ spoke with Manson in July, she reflected on how deeply the band’s connection to Australia runs — and how hard it hit when their planned 2023 return was cancelled due to her injury. “I was devastated,” she admitted. “Australia is where our career began. It’s a priority for us.”
Garbage have several shows remaining on their Australian tour. Check out the dates here.
