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Green Day apologise for Armstrong rant at Clear Channel event

By | Published on Monday 24 September 2012

Green Day

So, I think it’s fair to say that Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong wasn’t very impressed when he was told he had just one minute left of his slot at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on Friday, and he used up his one minute to let it be known in no uncertain terms.

“You’re kidding me, you’re fucking kidding me”, he began. “What the fuck? I’m not fucking Justin Bieber you motherfuckers. You gotta be fucking joking. This is a fucking joke. I’ve got one minute, one minute left. Oh, now I’ve got nothing left. Let me show you what one fucking minute fucking means”.

The frontman then proceeded to smash up his guitar and throw the remains into his audience who, if this YouTube clip is anything to go by, were kinda digging the rocker’s strop.

Though that didn’t stop the band’s reps subsequently issuing a full apology, and an assurance that Armstrong was now receiving treatment for substance abuse. iHeartRadio, of course, is the digital music service owned by Clear Channel, America’s biggest radio company, and therefore a firm not even Green Day can afford to piss off.

A statement from the band issued over the weekend read: “Billie Joe is seeking treatment for substance abuse. We would like everyone to know that our set was not cut short by Clear Channel and to apologise to those we offended at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas. We regretfully must [now] postpone some of our upcoming promotional appearances”.

It’s not clear if the postponements will also affect the band’s next tour, due to kick off in November. Green Day previously cancelled a set at an Italian festival earlier this month because Armstrong was hospitalised with an at the time undisclosed ailment. The band subsequently said the singer had been dehydrated.



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