Two Las Vegas radio stations have pulled Green Day’s music from their playlists following harsh comments made by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong about the city. During a September 20 performance at San Francisco’s Oracle Park, Armstrong expressed his frustration with the decision to move his favorite baseball team, the Oakland Athletics, from Oakland to Las Vegas.
Armstrong, an Oakland native and longtime fan of the A’s, criticized the team’s owner, John Fisher, for relocating the franchise to Las Vegas. He told the crowd, “We don’t take no shit from people like John fucking Fisher who sold out the Oakland A’s to Las fucking Vegas… I hate Las Vegas. It’s the worst shithole in America.”
The relocation of the Oakland A’s has sparked controversy among fans, with some chanting “fuck John Fisher” at the team’s final game in Oakland, where they’ve played for nearly six decades. The team is set to temporarily play in Sacramento for the next three years before moving to their new home on the Las Vegas Strip, which is expected to open in 2028.
In response to Armstrong’s remarks, Las Vegas rock station KOMP 92.3 announced the removal of all Green Day songs from their playlist. “KOMP 92.3 has pulled any and all Green Day from our playlist,” the station stated on Instagram. “It’s not us, Billie … it’s you. #vegas4ever.”
Alternative rock station X107.5 followed suit, issuing their own statement on air and online, banning Green Day’s music as well. “Well, Sin City heard [Armstrong] loud and clear – and X107.5 is not having it,” the station posted. “In response to Armstrong’s inflammatory comments, the station is banning all Green Day music, effective immediately. We’re breaking up with Green Day completely. Bye Bye, Billie!”
Despite Armstrong’s outspoken comments, Oakland A’s owner John Fisher issued an apology to fans in a letter, explaining the team’s unsuccessful attempts to remain in the Bay Area. “Staying in Oakland was our goal, it was our mission, and we failed to achieve it,” Fisher wrote. “For that, I am genuinely sorry.”
While Armstrong and Green Day have yet to respond directly to the ban, the frontman shared a photo of himself as a six-year-old in an Oakland A’s cap on social media, calling the team’s move “devastating.”