International superstar Pink (P!NK) was refused entry to Manly Skiff Club on Monday night, denying the singer access to – in our editor’s opinion- one of the best steak nights around (though we hear she isn’t much of a meat eater anyway).
The rare encounter was witnessed by a few locals, with one – Manly Market Manager, Mark Eymes – willing to go on record with the meaty tale.
He said he first bumped into P!NK (who is here for her Summer Carnival Tour) as he was strolling along East Esplanade.
“My cousin and I were walking on the Manly foreshore on the way to the Skiff, when I noticed a woman who stood out a bit,” he told Manly Observer.
“She was wearing a matching denim printed jacket, shorts and hat and she looked familiar, even though I wouldn’t call myself a P!NK fan.
“She was meandering along in a group of about eight, and she turned around and said, ‘I’m really sorry, we are walking a bit slowly, please go past’. The American accent was when I realised that she was P!NK.”
Mark passed P!NK (real name Alecia Beth Moore), but she caught up to him while he was standing in the line at the Skiff.
“I overheard her saying that she had a booking, but when they asked her to provide her ID, she said she didn’t have any on her,” he said.
“They said she couldn’t come in without it, even though she explained that she’d already secured her booking with a deposit.”
Mark said he tried to help P!NK by notifying a couple of Skiff Club directors, who were enjoying a drink at the bar, and the floor manager that P!NK was at the entrance and about to be turned away, which could be a bit of a lost opportunity.
“Next thing, I saw P!NK and her group walking away. They just turfed her out,” Mark said.
The Registered Clubs Act 1976 requires visitors of Clubs to provide an ID proving their address to gain temporary membership.
The Skiff takes their legal requirements very seriously.
While P!NK could have easily pulled the celebrity do-you-even-know-who-I-am card out, Mark said she didn’t.
“Not once did she throw her weight around. She was really pleasant despite being a little upset that she couldn’t come in. It was just such a shame and I felt a little embarrassed that a solution couldn’t be found,” Mark told us.
Another apparent witness told us they thought the party were actually eventually allowed in but chose to leave at that point.
Matt Hazell, Secretary Manager of Manly Skiff Club, wouldn’t comment on the incident and said they would prefer “not to comment on visitors to the Club to maintain the privacy of their members and guests.”
We understand the group went to nearby 4 Pines Manly instead and had a relaxed evening.
In other locally-relevant celebrity news, we heard very reliably that Kourtney Kardashian was due to take on a surfing lesson on Manly Beach this week, but this had to be relocated (and possibly rescheduled) due to choppy conditions.
Manly is in no mood for celebrity guests this week, it seems.
The next celebrity to hit Australia is Taylor Swift.
Will she pay a visit ? We don’t know.
But here’s hoping any seaside trips prove more surf than turf.
