The Green Day frontman opens up about alcohol and prescription drug abuse that forced him to check into rehab after public meltdown at the iHeartRadio festival.
- Feb 27, 2013
AceShowbiz - Billie Joe Armstrong breaks silence about his alcohol and prescription drug abuse. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he opens up about what he calls "substance abuse" that drove him to rehabilitation after he had a public meltdown on stage during the Las Vegas iHeartRadio festival.
"I couldn't predict where I was going to end up at the end of the night," the 41-year-old vocalist, guitarist and songwriter tells Rolling Stone. "I'd wake up in a strange house on a couch. I wouldn't remember how. It was a complete blackout."
"I remember tiny things," he recalls the Vegas incident. "The next morning, I woke up. I asked (wife) Adrienne, 'How bad was it?' She said, 'It's bad'. I called my manager and he said, 'You're getting on a plane, going back to Oakland (California) and going into rehab immediately.' "
Armstrong has had a long struggle with addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs and then realized it was time to get help after the frontman of Green Day angrily smashed his guitar after being told the band had only one minute left to finish their set. He shouted, "You're kidding me. I'm not f**king Justin Bieber, you motherf**kers. Let me show you what one minute f**king means."
During Armstrong's rehab stint, Green Day was forced to cancel the rest of their shows for 2012 and early 2013. The band said in December that it would return on the road in March and Armstrong thanked fans for their support.
