Shirley Manson is speaking out following a shooting targeting the Jewish community in Australia.
On Sunday (Dec. 14), two gunmen attacked a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 11 people and injuring 29. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the attack as an act of antisemitic terrorism, according to the Associated Press.
During Garbage‘s concert at the Sydney Opera House that evening, Manson addressed the horrific attack on stage before performing the band’s 1995 song “Queer.”
“This has become an astoundingly frightening, violent, hateful, intolerant world, and I think the only thing we can do really, as people who do not believe in all this separation and all this intolerance, all we can really do is really try and profess our love for one another,” Manson told the crowd.
“We have been a band that have always believed that we are one people under one sun,” she continued. “It doesn’t matter what god your worship, what color of your skin, what your gender is, what your sexual orientation is, what food you like to eat, what clothes you like to wear, how you like to hang your junk, whether you like to wear a bra or not wear a bra.”
“You get my point, it’s all so f—king stupid, we have people in power telling us to really hate one another, to destroy one another,” the singer added.
When someone in the audience shouted, “Free Palestine,” Manson responded, “Of course. Free f—king Palestine too. Everybody deserves to live a life of love and have their children be safe. And so I’m sorry to bring things down, but I really thought it was important to mention what happened today.”
The attack at Bondi Beach occurred as hundreds gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah. One gunman was fatally shot by police, and the second was arrested and remains in critical condition, authorities said. An explosive device was also found in one of the suspect’s cars, according to the Associated Press.
Garbage took to social media on Sunday to denounce the “vile” attack, noting that six of the band’s family members had been at Bondi Beach just hours before the incident.
“What kind of world we’re living in right now?” the Instagram post reads. “Innocent people were targeted while celebrating life and faith. This should never happen to anyone, anywhere. My heart is with the Jewish community in Bondi, with the victims, the injured, and the families whose lives are forever changed.”
The band continued, “This is what we stand against. Hatred. Racism. Division. Violence in all its forms. There is no place for hate or brutality in our society. We must not allow this horror to be used to divide us. Let it remind us to stand closer and tighter with each other, with love, shared feeling, shared humanity, and for each other.”
See Garbage’s full post on Instagram below.
