Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Storms Off Stage at iHeartRadio Festival
The second annual iHeartRadio concert seemed more like a soap opera than a music festival thanks to Billie Joe Armstrong's onstage "meltdown" at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Theater on Friday night.
However we wouldn't call Armstrong's expletive-filled banter a meltdown in the least. This is what rock stars do. But was his tantrum called for? Decide for yourself, here's exactly what went down.
On the first night of the two-day iHearRadio Music Festival that included sets by No Doubt, Rihanna, Lil Wayne and Jason Aldean, it was Green Day's performance, or lack thereof, that made it a night to remember.
Each artist is allotted a certain amount of time, but when Green Day's performance was cut 20 minutes short in order to make time for Usher's set, Armstrong was not having it. A teleprompter showed the band had one minute left during their "Basket Case" tune, which is when Armstrong became livid and stopped their song.
"I'm going to play a f--king new song. F--k this sh-t. Gimme a f--king break. One minute left. One minute f--king left. You're going to give me one minute. I’ve been around since f--king 198f--king8," Armstrong said.
He then proceeded to curse out Justin Bieber, who wasn't even performing at the festival.
"I'm not f--king Justin Bieber, you motherf---kers. You've got to be f--king joking. I got one minute. One minute left. Now I got nothing left. Let me show you what one f--king minute f--king means."
In true rock n' roll style Armstrong began smashing his guitar and finished by saying “God f--king love you all. We'll be back."
Well, they didn’t come back and E! reports that Armstrong was seen backstage "laughing."
Whether he had a "meltdown" or not ,this isn't the first time, or the last, an artist has lost his cool on stage. It happens all the time. Video of the incident is below so you can see for yourself. But warning: The language is NSFW.
Update: In a sad turn of events, Green Day has apologized for offending anyone at iHeartRadio and announced that Armstrong is headed to rehab. Read the full story.
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