Shirley Manson: Kneecap are 'decent young artists' just trying to 'affect change in some way'
Shirley Manson doesn't care if her band Garbage is cancelled because of her political statements.
Shirley Manson is not afraid of being cancelled.
The Garbage frontwoman will continue to speak out on the issues that matter to her - including the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza - without a fear of facing a backlash and "doesn't care" if her band gets cancelled, because they've had a "f****** great career".
The 58-year-old singer insists she is not a people pleaser and will always remain "true to who I am".
Speaking to NME, she said: “I don’t have to be young, I don’t have to be fast, I don’t have to be sexy, I don’t have to be appealing, I don’t have to smile. If you cancel me, you cancel me. I’ve had a f****** great career. I really don’t f****** care. If you cancel us, I’ll feel guilty that I’ve messed s*** up for my band, but I’d much rather be true to who I am as a human being, how I was raised by a family I’m very proud of."
On the topic of getting older, the 'World Is Not Enough' singer insists she loves life far more than she did when she was young.
The Scot continued: "I want to talk about the things that I see taking place in the world around me. I don’t want to pretend, I don’t want to be inauthentic, I don’t want to lie. I’m not nostalgic, I’m not looking back, I’m not looking forward, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be in that particular moment. The more I’ve done that, the more my life has blossomed. I enjoy my life – much more than I did when I was young.”
Shirley is among a host of huge names who have shown their support for hip-hop trio Kneecap after they faced a backlash for their controversial "free Palestine" statements. Band member Mo Chara was also charged with a terror offense in the UK.
The 27-year-old rapper - whose real name is Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh - was accused by London's Metropolitan police of "displaying a flag in support of proscribed organization Hezbollah" at O2 Forum gig in the UK capital city in November 2024.
Ó Hannaidh - who was charged under the name Liam O'Hanna - is set to appear in court on June 18.
In a statement on Instagram, Kneecap wrote: "We deny this ‘offense’ and will vehemently defend ourselves.
“This is political policing. This is a carnival of distraction.
"14,000 babies are about to die of starvation in Gaza, with food sent by the world sitting on the other side of a wall, and once again the British establishment is focused on us.
“We are on the right side of history. You are not. We will fight you in court. We will win.”
Shirley admits that although their "choice of words" may have "freaked" people out, she believes Kneecap are "decent young artists" just trying to "affect change in some way".
She commented in the interview: “What everyone is begging for is for the slaughter to stop and I don’t see how anyone could argue against that, but they accuse us of being terrorist supporters. None of us are. Did Kneecap exercise the best judgement in their choice of words? I see why some people freaked out, but we all know deep down that they’re decent young artists trying to affect change in some way and get us all to at least recognise that these people exist.
“While I sympathise with the fear and the historical suffering, the ancestral pain, I still don’t understand how anyone can see what’s going on in Gaza and not be crying out for it to stop. I just don’t understand it. There’s not a lot I can do, unfortunately.”
