Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong told London concertgoers on Friday night he was renouncing his U.S. citizenship.
The declaration came in response to the United States Supreme Court's ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization earlier that morning. The SCOTUS decision overturned Roe v. Wade.
During his band's Hella Mega tour performance at London Stadium, Armstrong declared:
“F'k America, I’m f'king renouncing my citizenship."
"I’m f'king coming here," the California native shouted, eliciting much approval from the British audience.
On Friday morning, the conservative court majority–which included three justices appointed by former Republican President Donald Trump–struck down the 1973 landmark ruling that gave people the constitutional right to reproductive freedom.
The SCOTUS decision gave power back to the states to either impose restrictions or enact outright bans on reproductive choices, effective immediately for any states with existing laws on the books.
“There’s just too much f'king stupid in the world to go back to that miserable f'king excuse for a country,” Armstrong added before hinting he may have found his new home in the UK.
“Oh, I’m not kidding. You’re going to get a lot of me in the coming days.”
Many fans shared his frustration.
People who didn't have the same privilege afforded to a famed musician had mixed feelings.
Others mentioned the need to stay and fight.
The five-time Grammy Award-winning band has not shied away from making political statements during past performances.
Their 2004 album American Idiot included songs inspired by 9/11 and the Iraq War and one that denounced former Republican President George W. Bush’s administration.
The album's relevance today was not lost on fans.
The band also had an expletive-laden message for Texas Senator Ted Cruz during a show in Berlin–presumably for Cruz's inaction on gun control in his home state following the Uvalde mass school shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
The day before the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the high court declared a state could not infringe on an individual's constitutional right to carry handguns in public.
Other American artists joined Armstrong in speaking out against the overturning Roe v. Wade that gave people federal protections on their reproductive healthcare options for nearly half a century.
At Britain's Glastonbury Festival, teen star Olivia Rodrigo brought Lily Allen onto the stage to join her in singing Allen's song "F**k You" which they dedicated to the conservative SCOTUS majority.
"I'm devastated and terrified that so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this," Rodrigo said of Friday's controversial ruling.
The 19-year-old dedicated the track to Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
"I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that at the end of the day, they truly don't give a sh*t about freedom," said Rodrigo.
@thekalenallen/Threads
U.S. Mint
