Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong called out a fan last weekend during the band’s performance at Germany’s Hurricane Festival, reportedly threatening to “beat their ass” if they didn’t stop shooting him with a water gun.
The incident took place on Sunday and has been gathering momentum on social media this week. Green Day Inc. shared footage of the showdown on TikTok, which you can watch below.
During the band’s performance of “Jesus of Suburbia,” Armstrong can be seen pointing at an audience member and giving them the middle finger while leading the crowd in one of his signature “hey-oh” singalongs. He then removes his guitar, steps away from the microphone and scolds the fan directly.
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It’s difficult to decipher the entirety of Armstrong’s brief message, but he clearly mouths the words, “I’ll beat your ass. Do you understand me?”
The altercation only lasts about 15 seconds, after which Armstrong picks his guitar up and the band continues the song.
@greendayinc Billie Joe reacts to person who kept sh00t1ng water on his face with a waterg0n throughout the whole show #greenday #billiejoearmstrong ♬ original sound – Green Day Inc.
Billie Joe Armstrong Has a History of Fighting Audience Members
The Hurricane Festival incident was a particularly tense moment for fans who remember Armstrong’s history of brawling with audience members. Green Day’s Woodstock ’94 set famously devolved into an enormous mud fight, with festival-goers storming the stage after they finished playing and a security guard accidentally tackling bassist Mike Dirnt and knocking out several of his teeth.
Armstrong took it one step further during a December 1997 performance at the Fillmore in San Francisco. “Hey, why don’t you come here, you little mohawk motherfucker?” he told a fan that was evidently causing problems on the floor. “You wanna come up here and fight? I’ll fight you right now. Come on, get up on the stage.” The frontman then threw his guitar down and dove feet-first into the audience to fight the audience member himself.
Watch Billie Joe Armstrong Fight a Fan During 1997 Green Day Show
Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed at Hurricane Festival — but it served as a reminder that at 53 years old, the self-proclaimed “son of rage and love” still has plenty of the former left in him.
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Prepare your Dickies and black wristbands.
Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff
