Billie Joe Armstrong Opens Up About Drug Use, Public Meltdown
Billie Joe Armstrong had a very public meltdown in September 2012. The now infamous Las Vegas show rant was caught on tape and ultimately led Billie Joe to check himself into rehab. Now the Green Day frontman is opening up about his addiction, his time in rehab, and his onstage meltdown.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Green Day singer admits that he went off the deep end after suffering through some of his “darkest” drug-fueled days in recent memory.
The 41-year-old rocker tells Rolling Stone:
“I couldn’t predict where I was going to end up at the end of the night. I’d wake up in a strange house on a couch. I wouldn’t remember how. It was a complete blackout.”
Those drug fueled nights led up to the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas. During the show, Armstrong went crazy, began swearing repeatedly, and smashed his guitar. Billie Joe Armstrong then looked out at his fans and proclaimed, “What the f–k! I’m not f–king Justin Bieber, you motherf–kers,” along with various other rants.
Following his crazy onstage meltdown, Billie Joe checked himself into rehab to deal with various forms of substance abuse.
The rocker tells the music publication of his Vegas show:
“I remember tiny things. The next morning, I woke up. I asked [my wife] Adrienne, ‘How bad was it?’ She said, ‘It’s bad.’ I called my manager. He said, ‘You’re getting on a plane, going back to Oakland and going into rehab immediately.'”
Following his stint in rehab, Green Day has announced new tour dates for the Spring.
In the Green Day hit, “Pulling Teeth,” Billie Joe Armstrong sings “I’m all busted up, broken bones and nasty cuts, accidents will happen, but this time I can’t get up.” As it turns out, Billie Joe Armstrong can get up and his new outlook on life might even make him better for it.
In the meantime, we now must wait to see if the Green Day front man can continue his sobriety when the band once again faces the pressures of touring.
The band most definitely appears poised for a return, announcing a newly redesigned fan club via Twitter:
The Official Green Day Fan Club has been completely revamped! Check it out at: gdidiotnation.com
— Green Day (@GreenDay) February 22, 2013
In case you missed Billie Joe Armstrong’s public meltdown, here it is:
