Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong recently referenced his infamous 2012 meltdown during a return to the iHeartRadio Festival - watch below.
At the event 14 years ago, the frontman launched into an expletive-laden rant after the band’s set was cut 20 minutes short. Learning they had only one minute left, he yelled: “Oh fuck this shit. I’m gonna play a fucking new song. Fuck this shit.Give me a fucking break. One minute left. You’re gonna give me one fucking minute?”
He continued, saying he’d “been around since 19-fucking-88” and he was “not fucking Justin Bieber”, before smashing his guitar and finishing with: “One minute. God fucking love you all. We’ll be back.”
Last week (January 17), the band returned to the festival in Inglewood, California. As they played their set closer ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your life)’, Armstrong made a sly reference to the rant.
Interrupting the song, he jokingly started counting down as if they were about to be cut off. “Five, four, three, two, one, zero…Good night,” he said, smiling knowingly at the audience.
Two days after the 2012 incident, Armstrong checked himself into a rehab clinic. “Billie joe is seeking treatment for substance abuse,” a band statement read at the time. “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.”
