Billie Joe Armstrong touched a nerve with his fiery rant against Las Vegas. And now the city is hitting back.
Some radio stations in Sin City have pulled the plug on Green Day’s music after the band’s frontman called Las Vegas the “worst s---hole in America” during a hometown show in San Francisco's Oracle Park on Sept. 20.
"I hate Las Vegas. It’s the worst s---hole in America," Billie Joe Armstrong said onstage during a show in San Francisco this month
Highlights
- Billie Joe Armstrong called Las Vegas the "worst s---hole in America" during a San Francisco show, upsetting Sin City.
- Some Las Vegas radio stations, including X 107.5 and KOMP 92.3, banned Green Day's music after the lead singer's comments.
- “We’re breaking up with Green Day completely. Bye Bye, Billie!” radio station X 107.5 said in its statement.
- Green Day has not publicly responded to the backlash.
Image credits: Billie Joe Armstrong
Image credits: Green Day
"We are no longer in the Green Day business," Carlota, the Midday host and APD/MD, from the Las Vegas-based radio station X 107.5, told Bored Panda.
The Green Day lead singer had bashed the city in light of baseball team Oakland A’s planned move to Las Vegas, leaving behind their longtime home in the Bay Area. The planned decision sparked outrage among loyal Oakland fans, including Billie, who didn’t hold back as he voiced his disappointment.
“We don’t take no s--- from people like John f---ing Fisher who sold out the Oakland A’s to Las f---ing Vegas,” the American Idiot vocalist said onstage. "I hate Las Vegas. It’s the worst s---hole in America."
At least two radio stations in Las Vegas banned Green Day’s music after the band's frontman's "inflammatory comments"
The enraged musician was referring to John Fisher, who became the A’s owner in 2005 and announced the team's controversial move to a brand-new stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.
While Billie’s disappointment over the team’s move resonates with many of the team’s fans, his bitter words about Las Vegas sparked immense backlash.
Radio station KOMP 92.3 announced on Instagram that the station “has pulled any and all Green Day from our playlist. It’s not us, Billie…it’s you. #vegas4ever.”
In an online statement, radio station X 107.5 also said they were banning the band's music over Billie’s “inflammatory comments.”
"We have been supporters of Green Day for decades. We played their music almost every other hour, and we played their new music as well. This city embraced them every time they came," Carlota told Bored Panda.
The punk rocker has since revealed that he is now supporting the Oakland Ballers, and he even vandalized Oakland A's logo during a tour stop in Canada
"While, I completely understand his anger towards ownership of the team, and the heartbreak he feels about losing his team, this city isn't responsible," she continued. "His city, and ownership of The A's are. So, for him to say what he said about us, obviously didnt sit well, and we took a stand. We are no longer in the Green Day business. Now, we aren't blind to the fact that Green Day will be just fine without us, but we will be just fine as well."
Following the radio station's decision to ban Green Day's music, she noted that the response from listeners has been "mostly positive" and "the only negatives typically come from other cities."
When asked how long the ban might last, Carlota said, "This is an organic thing that has become much larger than we ever thought it would become, so there's no timeline because we really didn't think it would be a conversation past the first day. We just did it and moved on."
“Me playing in the sand with my Oakland A’s hat. Must be around 6 years old.. the athletics leaving Oakland is devastating,” he said on Instagram last week, sharing a picture of himself from his childhood
The Midday host noted that they had previously banned Limp Bizkit in a similar fashion for doing "bad business" with the radio station.
"In 1999/2000 I believe, we banned Limp Bizkit for doing bad business with us," Carlota recalled. "They kept backing out of a shows for us so they could make more money elsewhere, even though we were the only station outside of their hometown in Florida, that would support them when no one knew who they were."
"So we stopped doing business with them, because they did poor business with us. That ban lasted over 2 decades," she added.
Green Day has not responded to the backlash; however, Billie shared an Instagram post last week, talking about how it was “devastating” to see Oakland A moving to Las Vegas.
“I feel for all the fans and the people that will lose their jobs because of greed.. 3 sports teams have left Oakland in the past 5 years Leaving a cultural hole in the east bay hearts and sport,” he wrote in his post. “I DO believe that Oakland will come back from this.. I’ll always remember driving to del Norte bart station taking the train to the games. Some of my favorite memories.”
The punk rocker has since revealed that he is now supporting the Oakland Ballers. He even posted a picture on social media after vandalizing Oakland A's logo during a tour stop in Canada.
The band, which released their 14th album Saviors last year, are currently touring North America.