Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Says He's Giving Up US Citizenship Over Roe V. Wade

Ashley Hunte
Two people extending their hands in peace signs.
Unsplash | Priscilla Du Preez

With the Supreme Court's recent ruling to overturn the longstanding constitutional right to abortion, as set by Roe v. Wade in 1973, outrage has been sparked both within the United States and around the world.

Over the weekend, countless protestors have gathered to advocate for female reproductive rights, which have been affected thanks to the ruling. Celebrities have been using their platforms to talk about how damaging this is for women and girls, as well as trans and nonbinary people.

Billie Joe Armstrong is among the growing list of celebrities to speak out against the ruling.

Armstrong, front man of the band Green Day, said that he'll renounce his U.S. citizenship during a concert held in London this passed weekend.

Angered by his home country, he announced that he'd rather move to the U.K.

"[Expletive] America. I'm [expletive] renouncing my citizenship. I'm [expletive] coming here," he said on Friday during a performance at the London Arena. Green Day is currently on tour with Weezer and Fall Out Boy.

He continued expressing his discontent, adding that he's being completely serious.

"There's too much [expletive] stupid in the world to go back to that miserable [expletive] excuse for a country," he said.

"Oh, I'm not kidding, you're going to get a lot of me in the coming days."

Armstrong has been critical of the United States in the past.

Green Day's 2004 singles "American Idiot" and "Holiday" criticize American politics and media. For longtime fans of the band and of Armstrong, these more recent sentiments don't come as a surprise.

He isn't the only celebrity to publicly denounce the decision.

Over the weekend, several artists attending the Glastonbury Festival in the U.K. also expressed their anger over the Supreme Court's decision. Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Billie Eilish, and Kendrick Lemar took time to speak out about the issue.

Olivia Rodrigo and Lily Allen dedicated a song to SCOTUS.

The two performed Allen's 2009 single "[Expletive] You," dedicating the song to the Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, after Rodrigo expressed that she was "devastated and terrified," saying, "so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this."

The Supreme Court of the United States voted to overturn Roe v. Wade on Friday.

A gavel on top of a book, which is in turn on top of a pile of money.
Unsplash | Sasun Bughdaryan

In a 6-3 ruling, SCOTUS decided that abortion is no longer a Constitutional right, because "The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision," as Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion.

This upsets nearly 50 years of precedent.

A map showing the continental United States of America.
Unsplash | Joey Csunyo

Nearly half of the country is expected to adopt near-total abortion bans, including 13 states that have previously adopted "trigger bans," which would automatically ban abortions within a month in the event of a ruling like this.

Protests have been erupting all over the country as a result.

The phrase "together we will change the world" written in concrete.
Unsplash | Priscilla Gyamfi

With the reproductive rights of millions of women, girls, trans, and nonbinary people on the line, people took to the streets to protest in cities all over the U.S..

Armstrong's remarks likely mirror what many are feeling right now.

Alongside Armstrong and the Glaastonbury Festival performers, others have expressed their strong disagreement, including Lizzo, Haley Bieber, Michelle Obama, and even president Joe Biden himself, who said the ruling is the "realization of an extreme ideology and a tragic error by the Supreme Court."

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!