In September 2012, Green Day’s appearance at the iHeartRadio Festival became one of their most infamous performances, after Woodstock ’94, of course. Occurring just before the release of their album trilogy, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, ¡Tré!, frontman Billie Joe Armstrong unleashed an expletive-laden rant near the conclusion of their performance.
On January 17, 2026, Green Day returned to the festival. Though they’ve been on the lineup several times since 2012, Armstrong decided to poke some fun at himself this time. At the end of their 2026 performance, he made a cheeky reference to his antics from 14 years ago.
While playing their usual concert closer, “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)”, Armstrong started a countdown as if the band were about to be booted from the stage.
“Five, four, three, two, one, zero…Good night,” he said with a mischievous grin. For anyone not in the know, the self-deprecating joke was likely a reference to Armstrong’s “one minute left” explosion when, through an alcohol and drug-fueled haze, he thought Green Day’s set was being cut short.
Green Day Frontman Unleashed Expletive-Heavy Rant in 2012, Checked Into Rehab Two Days Later
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The story of Billie Joe Armstrong’s 2012 iHeartRadio Festival meltdown takes place during a time of heavy drinking and drug use for the Green Day frontman. Besides his ranting and raving, his performance was noticeably sloppy and slurred. But it all came to a head when he allegedly misinterpreted a blinking reminder light as a cue that the band was being cut off.
In reality, the light was there as a time limit indicator, and the set was coming to a close anyway. But for Armstrong, this was the last straw, and he let loose while aptly performing “Basket Case”.
Armstrong broke the bridge of “Basket Case” to yell, “Give me a f***ing break, one minute left. One minute f***ing left. You’re gonna give me f***ing one minute? There, look at that f***ing sign right there, ‘One minute!’”
He continued, “Let me f***ing tell you something, let me tell you something, I’ve been around since fucking 198-f***ing-8, and you’re gonna give me one f***ing minute? You gotta be f***ing kidding me!”
Several you’re f***ing kidding me‘s and what the f***‘s ensued, with Armstrong also calling out Justin Bieber, for some reason. He then called the festival a “f***ing joke” before revving up into the big finale.
“I got one minute, one minute left. Oh, now I got nothing left, now I got nothing left,” he said. “Let me show you what one f***ing minute f***ing means! One minute! God, f***ing love you all. We’ll be back.”
‘I Thought My Life Was Completely Normal,’ Said Billie Joe Armstrong
Armstrong then smashed his guitar, and Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt smashed his bass in solidarity. Or to perhaps make Armstrong look like less of a tool, jury’s still out on that. All in all, the F-word and its many conjugations appeared 77 times in Armstrong’s rant.
Following the explosive performance, Green Day representatives put out a statement. “Green Day would like everyone to know that their set was not cut short by Clear Channel and to apologize to those they offended at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas,” it read.
Two days later, Armstrong checked into rehab. Another statement from the band noted, in part, that “Billie Joe is seeking treatment for substance abuse.” ¡Uno! was released the following month, but in the aftermath of Armstrong’s rehab, Green Day put touring and promotion on hold.
In 2016, Armstrong reflected on the incident and his subsequent rehab. “The thing about someone who’s losing their mind is that they don’t know they’re losing their mind,” he told Q Magazine at the time. “I thought my life was completely normal. And it wasn’t. I was on drugs! And people aren’t acting rationally when they’re on drugs. So, I had to take care of myself. I had to kick that, and I did. Then we took a long break, which was totally necessary.”
Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images for Clear Channel
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