Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong called people who do not want transgender propaganda in schools or around children “fucking close-minded.”
“Nowadays it’s more common for kids to be LGBTQ,” the Green Day singer said in an interview with Los Angeles Times, before conflating American adult criticism of LGBT youth rise with the majority of American adults who don’t want LGBT propaganda taught in classrooms.
“I just think they’re fucking close-minded,” Armstrong said of people critical of the concept of transgender youth. “It’s like people are afraid of their children. Why would you be afraid? Why don’t you let your kid just be the kid that they are?”
Armstrong, who identifies as bisexual, added that he found it “really liberating” to sing the lyrics, “Do you wanna be my boyfriend?” in Green Day’s new song, “Bobby Sox.”
“I thought I should flip the script,” the “Basket Case” singer told Los Angeles Times. “I’m kind of playing the character of the woman, but it also felt really liberating to sing, ‘Do you wanna be my boyfriend?’ It became more of a queer singalong.”
Elsewhere in the interview, it was revealed that Green Day recorded most of their new LP in London, because Armstrong “needed a break from the USA.”
“America was like a girlfriend you need time apart from,” Armstrong — who has an estimated net worth of $75 million that is expected to increase after his band’s 2024 “Saviors” tour, which is set to hit 25 U.S. cities — said.
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Armstrong added that he can “absolutely” see former President Donald Trump winning the presidency this November.
“I think he’s crazy,” Armstrong said of Trump. “I think he’ll say anything to get elected.”
The “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” singer also lamented an overabundance of “old men” in government — but in the same breath, ironically claimed that criticism of President Joe Biden’s age is unfair.
“He’s surrounded by good people,” Armstrong said of Biden.
Armstrong, who recently made headlines for insulting tens of millions of Trump supporters by likening them to rednecks during a New Year’s Eve performance, added that he is “reluctant” to endorse any U.S. politician — but admitted that no politicians are asking Green Day to rally for them anyway, as the band can be considered “anti-American.”
“I’m really reluctant to get in bed with any politician — not that we’ve ever been asked,” Armstrong acknowledged.
“I think there’s a side of us that people might look at as being anti-American, so they hold us at arm’s length,” the “American Idiot” singer added.
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Amusingly, Armstrong, who turns 52 next month, also talked about having undergone a colonoscopy, after which he said a nurse admitted that she and other health care professionals listened to Green Day while they entered his rectum with a colonoscope to examine his colon.
“I went into the hospital, and we’re trying to be discreet,” Armstrong explained. “Nobody’s saying a word about anything, so I’m like, ‘Cool, nobody knows who I am.’ They roll me in and give me the drugs and I’m out.”
“I wake up and the doctor comes in and says, ‘Everything looks great — no issues,'” the “Longview” singer added. “Then the nurse goes, ‘Just to let you know, we’re big fans, and we listened to Green Day the whole time we were in there.'”
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You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
