Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong is no stranger to altering lyrics during live performances. On many occasions, he has done so to reflect his political leaning. This time, Armstrong decided to showcase his disdain towards JD Vance, using a slur to refer to the Vice President.
While performing at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne as part of The Saviors Tour, Billie Joe Armstrong changed the lyrics of the song Jesus of Suburbia, attacking Vance. In a clip recorded by a fan, Armstrong can be seen singing, “Oh therapy, can you please fill the void? Am I retarded, or am I just JD Vance?” The original lyrics read, “Am I retarded, or am I just overjoyed?”
That wasn’t all, though. Billie Joe Armstrong tweaked the lyrics of the same track from their hit album American Idiot, to highlight the crisis in Ukraine, singing, “We are the kids of war and peace/From Ukraine to the Middle East,” while the actual lines are, “We are kids of war and peace/From Anaheim to the Middle East.”
Vance wasn’t the only one who was name-dropped, as there was another instance in the concert held in Australia on March 1, where Armstrong voiced out his opinions about Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Earlier that night, he asked the crowd, “Don’t you want Elon Musk to shut the f— up? Don’t you want Donald Trump to shut the f— up? Nah, nah, nah. I’m not going to get angry. F— that sh—!”
Billy Joe Armstrong of Greenday is all of us! We need more of this from all artists! Bravo sir!💥🔥💥 pic.twitter.com/SC36OEdWit
— Brian Cardone 🏴☠️🇺🇦 (@cardon_brian) March 2, 2025
Green Day have expressed their detachment from and disapproval of Elon Musk and the MAGA camp earlier as well.
While touring South Africa (Musk’s birthplace) in January, Billie Joe Armstrong changed the lyrics of their song American Idiot from “I’m not a part of the redneck agenda” to “I’m not a part of the Elon agenda.” He tweaked the lyrics to the track during a 2023 New Year’s Rockin’ Eve performance, singing “I’m not a part of a MAGA agenda.”
Billie Joe Armstrong changes the lyrics to call out Elon Musk: ‘I’m not a part of an Elon agenda’ 🔥🎤 – Green Day live at Calabash, South Africa #greenday #elonmusk #billiejoearmstrong @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/Ove9vEmSVn
— Green Day Italy (@GreenDayItaly_) January 20, 2025
In 2024, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong turned things up a notch during a performance at Nationals Park, where he was seen holding a mask of Donald Trump, with the word “idiot” written across the forehead. It must be noted that the mask was thrown onstage by fans and the act wasn’t something premeditated by him.
🚨🇺🇸BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG HOLDS UP A SEVERED TRUMP HEAD AT GREEN DAY CONCERT
The concert was held in DC. This comes just 2 weeks after Trump was shot in the ear at a rally.
Source: @JackPosobiec pic.twitter.com/TJYnr5fE0p
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 30, 2024
The band also set up a booth at the venue, encouraging their fans to register to vote, presumably against Donald Trump.
