Billie Joe Armstrongtouched a nerve with his fiery rant againstLas Vegas.And now the city is hitting back.
Some radio stations in Sin City have pulled the plug onGreen Day’s music after theband’s frontmancalled Las Vegas the “worst s—hole in America” during a hometown show in San Francisco’s Oracle Park on Sept. 20.
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“I hate Las Vegas. It’s the worst s—hole in America,”Billie Joe Armstrongsaid onstage during a show in San Francisco this month
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, toldBored Panda.
The Green Day lead singer had bashed the city in light ofbaseball teamOakland 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,” theAmerican Idiotvocalist said onstage. “I hate Las Vegas. It’s theworst s—hole in America.”
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Theenraged musicianwas 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 aboutLas Vegassparked immense backlash.
Radio station KOMP 92.3 announced onInstagramthat the station “has pulled any and all Green Day from our playlist. It’s not us, Billie…it’s you. #vegas4ever.”
“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 toldBored 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.”
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 anInstagrampost 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.”
Thepunk rockerhas 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 albumSaviorslast year, are currently touring North America.
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