Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Has Long Had Issues With America

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Emma Mayer

By Emma Mayer

Staff Writer

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Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of the punk rock band, Green Day, told fans during a concert in London that he was renouncing his American citizenship over the Supreme Court's overturning of *Roe v. Wade—*but some fans are reminding those angered by Armstrong's claim that the singer has always expressed his grievances over America.

On Friday, the Supreme Court voted in a 6-to-3 ruling to overturn the landmark 1973 decision Roe v. Wade, which protected a women's right to have an abortion in the U.S. The decision prompted significant feedback, as protests broke out across the country and celebrities used their public platforms to condemn the Supreme Court justices.

Armstrong was no different. During a recent concert in London, the Green Day frontman said that he was coming to the U.K. instead.

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"F*** America. I'm f***ing renouncing my citizenship. I'm f***ing coming here," Armstrong said. "There's too much f***ing stupid in the world to go back to that miserable f***ing excuse for a country."

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He added, "Oh, I'm not kidding, you're going to get a lot of me in the coming days."

His rant was first criticized on social media, with one user on Twitter writing, "Wait...what a great idea! Let ALL YOU d***a**** who hate America & don't understand what overturning Roe V Wade really means...Please leave America!"

While many echoed the same sentiments, other users argued that Armstrong's views against America shouldn't come as a surprise, and Green Day's 2004 hit single, "American Idiot," should be proof of that.

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"Billie Joe Armstrong is trending because weird a** conservatives are upset that the man in a band who dropped the album "American Idiot" almost 20 years ago still has the same opinion on America," a Twitter user who goes by the name Kodie wrote. "So do you guys just not have any comprehension skills or?"

Another Twitter user questioned the anger surrounding Armstrong's claim he was leaving the U.S. "Why are some ppl so shocked by billie joe armstrong hating america? the song american idiot alone should've been a clear sign," the user wrote.

With lyrics like, "Don't want to be an American idiot, one nation controlled by the media," "American Idiot" became an anthem for protesting political events. In 2018, the song actually topped the music charts in the U.K. 14 years after its release ahead of former President Donald Trump's visit to England.

Green Day has previously made headlines for discussing political views at concerts. In 2016, Armstrong and the band led a chant at the American Music Awards in protest of the Presidential election of Donald Trump, chanting, "No Trump, no KKK, no fascist U.S.A."

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