Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong has recently responded to the events unfolding in America by addressing his crowd in London with a statement of intent to renounce his US citizenship. The band’s Hella Mega tour with Fall Out Boy and Weezer is currently heading towards its conclusion in the UK, with the news of the supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade adding a serious amount of flame to Armstrong’s fire on Friday night at the London Stadium.
Roe v. Wade provided women the legal right to terminate a pregnancy in the US and has been in effect for just short of 50 years. On Friday, US justices for the Supreme Court overturned the case, meaning that over half of the states in America will now be able to ban abortion. This will in effect force millions of women into the horrifically compromising decision of having to break the law should they wish to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, and is being seen by many as a shockingly archaic step backwards for a country that considers itself the leader of the free world.
Billie Joe Armstrong responded onstage by saying “Fuck America, I’m fucking renouncing my citizenship. I’m fucking coming here” as quoted by Rolling Stone. He then went on to say “There’s just too much fucking stupid in the world to go back to that miserable fucking excuse for a country. Oh I’m not kidding. You’re going to get a lot of me in the coming days“. Check out the moment below:
#GreenDay #RoeVWade #hellamegatour
billie joe’s statement on roe vs wade at london hella mega tour last night pic.twitter.com/6cJx4oa6I1— friendly neighborhood clikkie (@armstr0ngtyler) June 25, 2022
In recent days many musicians have taken to the stage protesting the move. With Glastonbury in particular being an obvious hotbed for revolt. In what is already going down as an iconic moment, Olivia Rodrigo invited Lily Allen on stage for a passionately euphoric rendition of Allen’s hit 2009 song “Fuck You”, addressed of course to the 5 justices of the supreme court that overturned Roe v. Wade. With tens of thousands screaming the sentiment back at the tops of their voices, there was overwhelming support in the crowd for what made for a particularly impactful and moving moment at the festival. Others voicing their condemnation of the supreme court included; Phoebe Bridgers, Meghan The Stallion, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, and IDLES to name a few.
You can catch Green Day at their remaining UK shows at Marlay Park in Dublin on June 27 and Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on June 29, and you can get your tickets here.
