The famous Green Day performance at the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival became infamous following an incident where Billie Joe Armstrong went absolutely furious on stage. The band’s set was abruptly cut short without prior notice, as organizers allocated additional stage time to Usher.
The band members were caught off guard, receiving a mere one-minute warning to vacate the stage before Usher took over. This unexpected turn of events angered Armstrong, resulting in a reaction that immediately made headlines.
Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Unleashed Fury on Stage After Event Abruptly Cut Set Short
The iconic trio was assured a 45-minute set in the musical festival happening in Las Vegas and kicked it off in grand fashion with American Idiot which the crowd evidently enjoyed very much.
However, the atmosphere swiftly shifted from a joyful one to a chaotic one as a warning sign unexpectedly flashed, indicating that the band had just one minute remaining of their scheduled time immediately after Basket Case, despite Green Day believing they still had another 20 minutes. Armstrong’s response to this went far beyond mere anger. He went on a one-minute rant, saying (watch the clip on Instagram),
One minute f—ing left!–You’re going to give me one f—ing minute. You gotta be f—ing kidding me. What the f–k? Let me tell you something, I’ve been around since 19-f–ing-88. And you’re gonna give me one f—ing minute? I’m not f–king Justin Bieber you motherf–kers. You gotta be f–king joking. I got one minute, one minute left. Oh now I got nothing left, now I got nothing left. Let me show you what one f—ing minute f–ing means!
In a burst of raw rock ‘n’ roll energy, Billie Joe Armstrong then smashed his guitar to pieces, sparking cheers from the crowd who were also frustrated over their set being cut short. His reaction was a tad bit on the overreaction scale, but understandable given the mishandling of the situation by event managers. This incident made headlines and had people talking about it like crazy.
The Aftermath of the Infamous Incident!
His dramatic response to the abrupt end worried many fans and his bandmates. At the time, he was self-medicating with a combination of prescription pills and alcohol, which had escalated into a concerning pattern.
Following the incident, the singer was admitted to rehab in Oakland. Speaking about the 2012 incident to Rolling Stone in 2020 he revealed,
I couldn’t predict where I was going to end up at the end of the night, I’d wake up in a strange house on a couch. I wouldn’t remember how. It was a complete blackout. I remember tiny things. The next morning, I woke up. I asked [my wife] Adrienne, “How bad was it?” She said, “It’s bad.” I called my manager. He said, “You’re getting on a plane, going back to Oakland and going into rehab immediately.
In a way, the incident was a blessing in disguise as it pushed him to finally confront his problems and take steps against them. He is now on a much healthier path, and the ultimate redemption arc came full circle this year when the band returned to the same stage. In a nod to their infamous performance, Green Day played Basket Case once again. This time, they completed the song flawlessly, with Armstrong even adding a touch of the song’s early demo lyrics.
