Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has a history of giving some truly wild performances. But an incident in which he dove off the stage to drop-kick a fan remains one of his most memorable moments. Here’s how Armstrong got into the physical altercation and why some fans actually praised the “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” singer for doing so.
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong has a history of wild moments on stage
Armstrong is known for putting on a show — with or without music. For example, fans might remember a 2012 incident when Armstrong had a meltdown at the iHeartRadio Music Festival over scheduling conflicts with Usher.
According to The Atlantic, Green Day’s performance was supposed to be 40 minutes. But because Usher’s show had run long, Green Day‘s time was cut in half. And Armstrong didn’t take well to this news.
After seeing a notification that said he had one minute left to play, Armstrong started swearing and telling off the organizers. “You’re gonna give me one f***ing minute?” he said. “Let me tell you something. I’ve been around since 1988. And you’re gonna give me one f***ing minute? You’ve gotta be f***ing kidding me!” Armstrong proceeded to smash his guitar on the stage before walking off.
Another incident happened at Woodstock 1994. At the festival, Green Day’s performance got messy — literally — after a gigantic mud fight broke out between the festival crowd and the band. According to Rolling Stone, Armstrong pulled down his pants, yelled profanities, and threw mud at fans. It was enough to result in Armstrong’s mom sending him a “hate letter” to express her disappointment in his behavior.
Happy 50th birthday, Billie Joe Armstrong! In 2020, he walked us through 15 of Green Day’s most iconic songs, from “Welcome to Paradise” to “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” https://t.co/JlYBGp5uql
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) February 17, 2022
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The time Billie Joe Armstrong drop-kicked a fan during a show
Armstrong is clearly a highly interactive performer. And in one case, he dove into the crowd seemingly to fight a bully.
The incident went down at a Green Day concert in 2006. Per a fan video on Loudwire, Armstrong apparently saw a man roughing up the crowd. So he stopped playing and decided to intervene.
“Hey, why don’t you come here, you little mohawked motherf*****? he said. “You wanna come up here and fight? I’ll fight you right now. Come on, get up here on the stage.”
Then, Armstrong leapt into the crowd to fight the person, and chaos ensued. He soon made his way back on stage and continued his performance.
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The 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival outburst convinced the singer to enter rehab
Armstrong’s outburst at the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival actually swayed the singer to seek help for addiction. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he entered a one-month alcohol and drug outpatient rehab program. And he called his withdrawal period “gruesome.”
In a 2020 interview with NME, Armstrong said he’s “not really sober anymore.” But his habits have changed. “I had a time where I needed to learn to grow up a little bit and take responsibility for myself and for my own independence, and I did,” he said. “Now I’m moving forward. I had a good run, so let the good times roll!”
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