Billie Joe Armstrong is not bothered by Elon Musk using lyrics from “American Idiot.”
He told Billboard’s Tetris Kelly and Rania Aniftos on the 2025 GRAMMYs red carpet, “I think ‘American Idiot’ is like… It’s just sort of the takes on a life of its own and so anytime that there’s like I mean after a protest song, anytime there’s some trouble in the world and times of uncertainty, I think a lot of people connect to that song.”
He continued, “So you can change a lyric here or change it there and then all of a sudden it just becomes current again.” When asked about advice for people frustrated with the political situation, Armstrong suggested, “Take a break. Don’t stay off of social media for a while. I think one of the worst things in the world is the anxiety especially that we all feel collectively and I think it has a lot to do with social media freaking us out even more.”
“And then all of a sudden, you just realize, you go and you hang out with a friend and you just make those connections that you’re supposed to make. That’s what human beings are supposed to do,” he added.
Armstrong had previously targeted Musk during a show in South Africa, changing the lyrics of ‘American Idiot’ from “I’m not a part of the redneck agenda” to “I’m not a part of the Elon agenda.” This came after Musk stirred controversy at Trump’s inauguration with a hand gesture some interpreted as a Seig Heil salute.
Green Day has criticized Musk before, altering lyrics during their 2023 New Year’s performance. Musk took to social media to criticize them, prompting bassist Mike Dirnt to reply, stating that Musk is the “machine” the band rages against.
