‘I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda’: Green Day changed American Idiot’s lyrics in their New Year’s Eve performance
During the band’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve show, Billie Joe Armstrong updated the lyrics in American Idiot to reflect Green Day’s more recent political thoughts…
Back in 2019, Billie Joe Armstrong succinctly summed up his feelings on then-President Donald Trump by telling Kerrang! that he gave him “diarrhoea”. And those opinions obviously haven’t shifted much in the past few years, as on Sunday night he tweaked the lyrics to American Idiot by mentioning Trump’s political slogan.
The lyrical update happened in the first track of Green Day’s five-song performance on Ryan Seacrest’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve: instead of the usual phrase ‘I’m not a part of the redneck agenda’ in their iconic 2004 single, Billie instead sang ‘I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda’, which according to the internet has seemingly riled up plenty of followers of the whole Make America Great Again movement.
It’s not even the first time Green Day have done this, though, singing the ‘MAGA agenda’ line at the iHeartRadio Festival in 2019, and going one step further by chanting ‘No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA’ during a 2016 performance of Bang Bang at the American Music Awards.
Check out a video of the updated lyrics in the performance:
And see the fan response online from those who’ve always understood Green Day’s politics:
Pick up your copy of the Kerrang! 2023 winter issue now to read our brand-new Green Day interview all about their new album Saviors (which is due out this month!), as well as features with everyone from Fall Out Boy to Skindred to Pale Waves to Bad Omens.
And catch Green Day on The Saviors Tour this year – get your tickets now.