Axl Rose appears to be taking his recent mic-throwing controversy in stride. Addressed the incident during Guns N’ Roses‘ Dec. 8 show in Wellington, New Zealand, he joked that he now has to attend “Tossers Anonymous” meetings.
A woman named Rebecca Howe claimed she suffered serious injuries at the end of a Nov. 29 show in Adelaide, Australia, when Rose threw his microphone into the crowd at the end of “Paradise City,” allegedly hitting her in the face.
Rose issued a statement on Twitter last week saying he’d learned a lesson. “Having tossed the mic at the end of [our] show for over 30 years, we always felt it was a known part of the very end of [our] performance that fans wanted and were aware of to have an opportunity to catch the mic,” he wrote. “Regardless, 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.”
On Wednesday, Rose once again discussed the incident, but in a far more light-hearted manner. “I’m sure you’ve heard about this,” he said when Guns N’ Roses finished playing “Estranged.” “At the end of the show, I won’t be tossing the mic.
“You’ve heard of AA, right? I have to go to TA: Tossers Anonymous,” he added, earning a wave of laughter and applause from the crowd. “Yes, it’s true. It’s a 12-step thing. I don’t know what I’m on. I’m only at the beginning. The first step, you know, you’ve got to admit you have a problem. So, my name is Axl, and yes, I’m a tosser.”
A Twitter user named Margott Hinostroza also shared a photo of Rose grinning as he held up a fan-made banner that read, “Axl, you can throw anything at my face. Beccy.”
The microphone incident wasn’t the only drama Rose and company faced over the past week. The band has filed a lawsuit against an online gun store named Texas Guns and Roses, accusing the retailer of trying to trick customers into thinking that the two are affiliated. Rose also recently scolded a drone pilot for disrupting one of the band’s performances.
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