US rapper Ice Spice has addressed the backlash stemming from her appearance at Brisbane’s Wildlands Festival on New Year’s Eve, offering a brief apology during her performance at the Perth leg of the same event just days later.
Ice Spice, who has spent the start of 2025 performing across Australia, was booked for major festival slots, including Beyond the Valley in Victoria and multiple Wildlands Festival dates in Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
However, her Brisbane set on December 31st—the day before her 25th birthday—sparked significant criticism from fans.
Scheduled to perform from 10:30 to 11:00pm, Ice Spice reportedly arrived 30 minutes late, stepping onto the stage just after 10:55pm.
Due to the tight festival schedule and a strict midnight curfew, the rapper delivered two songs, “Deli” and “Princess Diana,” before her microphone was cut during her performance of “In Ha Mood” at 11.01pm.
Festival organisers later addressed the situation via Instagram, explaining the decision to cut her set. “We understand that Ice Spice’s delayed arrival caused some disappointment,” they stated. “Managing a stacked festival means we have to be extremely firm with set times. We had a strict curfew of 12:30 and needed to ensure the final act went on stage on time, so everyone could enjoy the New Year’s Eve countdown.”
Ice Spice has remained silent on social media, but she briefly broke her silence during her January 4th performance in Perth, local youth radio network Youth Jam reported. “I’m sorry, guys. Surely y’all can forgive me,” she said. “It was my birthday, and it takes a long time to look like a Barbie.”
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The comment served as an introduction to her performance of “Barbie World,” her collaboration with Nicki Minaj.
The Australian shows mark the end of her global run in support of her debut album, Y2K!. The album was a critical success, premiering at No. 18 on the US Billboard 200 with opening sales of 28,000 units.
