Where is Billie Joe Armstrong from? Green Day frontman leaves internet divided by renouncing US citizenship

Billie Joe Armstrong in London (Image via Burak Cingi/Redferns/Getty Images)

On Friday, June 24, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong expressed his anger over the US Supreme Court’s reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

The singer-songwriter from California took to the stage at the band’s London Stadium concert and expressed how he is willing to shift to the United Kingdom, adding that he would henceforth be spending more of his time there.

The 50-year-old artist further vented his anger by exclaiming “F*** America” at the concert.

Armstrong protested against the US Supreme Court’s decision in the concert and addressed the London audience. He said:

“F*** America, I’m f***ing renouncing my citizenship,” he said. “I’m f***ing coming here.”

Billie Joe Armstrong further added:

“There’s just too much f***ing stupid in the world to go back to that miserable f***ing excuse for a country. Oh, I’m not kidding. You’re going to get a lot of me in the coming days.”

In the concert, Armstrong resonated with Olivia Rodrigo’s comment about the Supreme Court and said:

“F*** the Supreme Court.”

He further labeled the Supreme Court justices as "pricks."

Armstrong is the latest to join a long line of artists who have called out the US Supreme Court for this decision. These artists include the likes of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Halsey, Janelle Monae, and more.

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Netizens react to Billie Joe Armstrong's comment about US Supreme Court's overturn of 1973's abortion rights ruling of Roe v. Wade

While a legion of politically charged tweets called out Armstrong for his announcement of renouncing his US citizenship, a few followers also supported the singer-songwriter for his stance. Meanwhile, others mocked Armstrong's comments and made memes about it.

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Billie Joe Armstrong’s native place

The singer-songwriter was born in Oakland, California, on February 17, 1972. While Armstrong was born in Oakland, the Green Day frontman was raised in Rodeo. The Census Designated Place (CDP) is situated in Contra Costa County, California. Billie Joe Armstrong’s fellow Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt is a native of Rodeo.

Armstrong attended Hillcrest Elementary School, where he met Dirnt and explored his love for music, especially punk rock.

While Billie Joe Armstrong is a United States citizen by birth, it has been reported that his lineage can be traced to the Italian tribe, Lucanians. According to La Repubblica Napoli, Armstrong’s great-great-grandparents were born in the Viggiano commune in the Potenza province of Italy. The publication claims that Armstrong’s great-great-grandparents from his father Andrew Marsicano Armstrong’s side, Pietro Marsicano and Teresa Nigro, had immigrated to the USA from Italy in “the second half of the 19th century and settled in Berkeley, California.”

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Political sides of Billie Joe Armstrong and Green Day

This is not remotely close to being the first time Billie Joe Armstrong has expressed his political opinions. The punk rock band has always been politically charged, and the title track of their 2004 album, American Idiot, is the biggest example so far. The track was written during the George W. Bush administration in a post-9/11 world amid the military attack against Iraq.

Similarly, in 2017, Green Day dropped a track named “Back in the USA,” which took on the Donald Trump administration and also showcased the former President as an alien. Later in 2019, Armstrong told Kerrang magazine,

“I draw no inspiration from the President of the United States, because he’s just… there’s nothing. Trump gives me diarrhea, you know? I don’t want to write a song about it!”

These statements prove that Armstrong’s criticism of America is not a newfound notion that the singer developed recently. However, whether the singer-songwriter moves to the UK remains to be seen. Meanwhile, it also poses questions as to whether his bandmates, Tré Cool and Mike Dirnt, and their families will follow suit to leave the USA.