Green Day has found themselves banned from the playlists of two Las Vegas radio stations after frontman Billie Joe Armstrong made some controversial comments about the city.
During a performance at San Francisco’s Oracle Park on September 20, Armstrong expressed his displeasure with the decision of his hometown baseball team, the Oakland A’s, to relocate to Las Vegas.
“We don’t take no s**t from people like John f**king Fisher who sold out the Oakland A’s to Las f**king Vegas,” Armstrong declared onstage according to PEOPLE. “I hate Las Vegas. It’s the worst s**thole in America.”
The frontman’s remarks appeared to target John Fisher, who became the owner of the Oakland A’s in 2005 after being a part-owner of the San Francisco Giants. Following the announcement of the team’s move to Las Vegas earlier this year, fans reportedly chanted ‘f**k John Fisher’ at the A’s final game in Oakland.
Unsurprisingly, some residents of Las Vegas have not taken kindly to Armstrong’s comments. As a result, two local radio stations have decided to remove Green Day’s music from their playlists.
Las Vegas rock station KOMP 92.3 announced on Instagram that they ‘pulled any and all Green Day from our playlist,’ adding, ‘It’s not us, Billie…it’s you. #vegas4ever.’
Another station, X 107.5, declared on their website that they would be banning Green Day from their playlist rotation. They stated: “Well, Sin City heard him loud and clear — and X 107.5 is not having it. In response to Armstrong’s inflammatory comments, the station is banning all Green Day music, effective immediately.”
“Considering he played a pop-up show at Fremont Country Club last year, we’re surprised at his comments,” the radio station continued. “The show was spectacular! But now, Armstrong has crossed a line with Las Vegas locals.”
Although Armstrong and his bandmates haven’t yet commented on the radio stations’ decision, Armstrong did post a tribute to the Oakland A’s on Instagram earlier this week. He wrote: “The athletics leaving Oakland is devastating. I feel for all the fans and the people that will lose their jobs because of greed.”
“3 sports teams have left Oakland in the past 5 years, leaving a cultural hole in the east bay hearts and sport. I DO believe that Oakland will come back from this,” he added. “This one hurts.”
Currently, Green Day is in the midst of their North American tour.