Tuesday night’s Guns n’ Roses show in Adelaide, Australia didn’t go so well for one fan, who was struck in the face by Axl Rose‘s microphone.
Rebecca Howe was warning those around her to keep their eyes open during “Paradise City,” as that’s the song where Axl tosses his mic into the audience, when sure enough, she caught it on her face, resulting in two black eyes.
“My mind went, ‘Oh my God, my face is caved in’.
“What if it was a couple of inches to the right or left? I could have lost an eye … What if it hit me in the mouth and I broke my teeth? … If my head was turned and it hit me in the temple, it could have killed me.”
Axl was made aware of it and posted a statement on Twitter, in part saying, “If true, obviously we don’t want anyone getting hurt, or, to somehow in anyway hurt anyone at any of our shows anywhere…
“In the interest of public safety, from now on we’ll refrain from tossing the mic or anything to the fans during or at our performances.
“Unfortunately there are those that for their own reasons chose to frame their reporting regarding this subject in a more negative and irresponsible out of nowhere light, which couldn’t be farther from reality. We hope the public and of course our fans get that that sometimes happens.
“A BIG THANKS to everyone for understanding.”
This is not the first time Axl cracked an Aussie in the face with his microphone. In 2013 a man was struck in the mouth resulting in $5,000 in dental fees.
Guns n’ Roses are in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday and they wrap up their tour Down Under with two shows in New Zealand — Wellington on Thursday and Auckland on Saturday.
While Rebecca says she’s not looking to file a lawsuit, the band has, a trademark suit against an online gun store, Texas Guns and Roses, for unspecified damages.
Their lawyers say, “GNR, quite reasonably, does not want to be associated with defendant, a firearms and weapons retailer.
“Furthermore, defendant espouses political views related to the regulation and control of firearms and weapons on the website that may be polarizing to many U.S. consumers.”
And, they add that Texas Guns and Roses doesn’t sell roses. But that changed on Friday with four bundles of roses being available on its website.