Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong smashes his guitar at iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas
With nearly a quarter of a century of music under their belts, Green Day certainly have plenty of material.
So perhaps it is understandable why Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong went on a foul-mouthed tirade after his band’s playing time was cut to make way for Usher at the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas.
The 40-year-old Dookie star flew off the handle when he discovered 20 minutes were getting shaved off their set to make room for more mainstream acts.
It all kicked off when he noticed that producers had run down his time to one minute.
The pint-sized punk stopped performing mid-song, pointed out the clock to the audience, and then started ranting and swearing uncontrollably.
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong went on a foul-mouthed tirade after his band's playing time was cut to make way for Usher at the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas
He said: “You’re going to give me one minute? One f***ing minute? I’ve been around since f***ing ninteen eighty f***ing eight and you’re going to give me one f***ing minute?
“I’m not f***ing Justin Bieber, you motherf***ers.”
Ironically, Billie Joe Armstrong was actually in error, as the band he founded actually started playing in 1987.
He said the word f*** more than 20 times in the single minute he had left, before organizers turned his microphone off.
But the angry star was not finished as he decided to smash up his guitar onstage.
As the hot-tempered entertainer walked off, he had some final words to say, telling fans: “We’ll be back.”
Not everyone was happy at his behavior though, with one fan saying on YouTube: “I think he deserves to be mad, but why the hell did he was cursing like that?
“I’m a big Green Day fan, but I think he didn’t have to do all this drama ON the stage because that was so unprofessional, and also that Bieber comment was really unnecessary.
“And also that “f***ing” “f***” “f***/ers” words every 2 seconds…”
After becoming an underground success, Green Day’s major label debut Dookie in 1994 helped revive interest in the flailing genre.
It ended up selling more than 10 million copies in the US alone.
They have continued to be a successful touring and recording unit, with their last album 21st Century Breakdown being their biggest chart success to date.
It reached number one in the US, UK and Europe, and won a Grammy award for best rock album.
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