Billie Joe during AI in Peru

[Heather.]

It'd be totally (but less...) along the lines of a Mel Gibson tirade or whatever, if he said stuff like this after his DUI, it would've killed his reptuation. Or if he said it at a concert in America, perhaps, where there might be more press? I don't know if he necessarily thought that Peru would be a safer place to spew shit, I would really hope he didn't *plan* to say these things.... I guess, fortunately, what is said at a Green Day concert stays at a Green Day concert (and youtube).

You can rest assured that if he goes on to bigger and better things and actually becomes a household name, all this kind of stuff would come to light. But I'm not seeing that happening because he's not Bono, he's Green Day.

There is a part of me that recognizes that being a punk means trying to offend and shock people, but I think he does that effectively enough without having to attack others. He could just say "I FUCKED MY DOG LAST NIGHT" and we'd all be sufficiently disturbed, y'know?

[kristóf]

I wish everyone would be like Billie Joe. I mean, he voted for Obama, but he still told him to fuck off. That's a great thing about him.

A lot of people ignores the president's (not especially in the US, i'm talking about all of the countries) wrong decisons, just because they voted for him. They doesn't think, they keep saying their shit about the leader, who's a dumbass... but it seems like Billie Joe's thinking, and he thinks that the man he voted is not that good at all. I don't know is this true or not, but at least he's thinking, and that's positive.

This fuck-Steve-Jobs-thing is matching with everything he was thinking before. I mean, he's singing about fuck electronic things, fuck Iphones, he doesn't want to live with them, he doesn't want to live in this modern world. That night he was pissed off by some reasons, I don't know why, maybe because of the audience, and he told he's thoughts in this way. Maybe he drank too much. Noone knows.

[Heather.]

I don't think many of us were offended by the Obama comment. He's told Bush to fuck off and die, everyone has. I've heard plenty of people wishing the same upon Obama. That doesn't make me bat an eyelash.

And I'm pretty sure the reason he said those things (this has probably already been discussed) is because that concert probably coincided with the meeting Obama had with Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg last year.

[DoodleBob]

Billie wrote Platypus about a real person who had cancer, who then died of it not long after the song came out. And then over a decade later Billie was calling that person a "fucking cunt" on twitter. So I doubt it.

That's true, but remember, Billie actually MET the person that Platypus was about. I highly doubt that Billie Joe has met Steve Jobs. And also, Billie deleted the Twitter post about calling that person a 'fucking cunt', so obviously he regretted it.

[Schlappy]

ooh... i didnt know steve jobs actually had cancer. i thought it was just an insult or something. hmmmm the end still pumps me up though

[Ellenkc]

Oh God I remember this thread Everyone overreacted to this. Apple has done a lot of stuff to the music industry that doesn't benefit Billie,,=or any musician really, it's only natural he resents him a little for that. So he told him to go die. Who cares, it's not going to hurt Jobs. I doubt he found the video on Google and cried himself to sleep over it. Billie himself probably hasn't given it a second thought since.

He had a rant like he always does and said something offensive. I don't get why people are so shocked at Billie saying something that isn't politically correct, it's not exactly a new thing for him.

[Ellenkc]

feck it

[brianbags]

Oh God I remember this thread Everyone overreacted to this. Apple has done a lot of stuff to the music industry that doesn't benefit Billie,,=or any musician really, it's only natural he resents him a little for that. So he told him to go die. Who cares, it's not going to hurt Jobs. I doubt he found the video on Google and cried himself to sleep over it. Billie himself probably hasn't given it a second thought since.

He had a rant like he always does and said something offensive. I don't get why people are so shocked at Billie saying something that isn't politically correct, it's not exactly a new thing for him.

It amazes me you are trying to make an argument for this, saying that Jobs has done something to deserve having a rock star say in front of thousands that he hopes he dies of cancer.

This isn't about being politically correct. Proclaiming you want someone to die of cancer is far more than just "politically incorrect".

[Hermione]

It amazes me you are trying to make an argument for this, saying that Jobs has done something to deserve having a rock star say in front of thousands that he hopes he dies of cancer.

This isn't about being politically correct. Proclaiming you want someone to die of cancer is far more than just "politically incorrect".

What's it gonna do though? Actually cause him to die of cancer? It's just words. The only difference between saying that and just saying "fuck Steve Jobs" is it sounds more shocking, the meaning is exactly the same.

[Breath.]

What's it gonna do though? Actually cause him to die of cancer? It's just words. The only difference between saying that and just saying "fuck Steve Jobs" is it sounds more shocking, the meaning is exactly the same.

Are you kidding or what? The fact that Jobs actually HAS cancer,makes this speech even more disgusting,how can't you understand this? Do you really think words like "fuck off Steve Jobs" would have "deserved" allmost 30 pages of discussions? This person has a family,has kids,and he has to leave this all in months,he has no choice. He will die,anyway. And noone,really NO ONE should even dare to be happy for this,or if someone is (and this sounds really horrible to me),he should feel pretty ashamed ,and not screaming his wish in front of thousands of people (who are ready to make excuses for him,too...I'm really shocked)

[Hermione]

Are you kidding or what? The fact that Jobs actually HAS cancer,makes this speech even more disgusting,how can't you understand this? Do you really think words like "fuck off Steve Jobs" would have "deserved" allmost 30 pages of discussions? This person has a family,has kids,and he has to leave this all in months,he has no choice. He will die,anyway. And noone,really NO ONE should even dare to be happy for this,or if someone is (and this sounds really horrible to me),he should feel pretty ashamed ,and not screaming his wish in front of thousands of people (who are ready to make excuses for him,too...I'm really shocked)

Do you think he actually meant "I will be very happy when Steve Jobs dies"? He meant "fuck Steve Jobs". Yes, he said it in a very shocking and offensive way, but that's still what he meant.

And again, Platypus is about a real person who had cancer and later died of it, so I just don't see why people are so surprised by this. He lost his temper and said something shocking to get a reaction....what else is new?

[Breath.]

Do you think he actually meant "I will be very happy when Steve Jobs dies"? He meant "fuck Steve Jobs". Yes, he said it in a very shocking and offensive way, but that's still what he meant.

And again, Platypus is about a real person who had cancer and later died of it, so I just don't see why people are so surprised by this. He lost his temper and said something shocking to get a reaction....what else is new?

He said he hopes Jobs to die of cancer as soon as possible. It's a little bit different,I'd prefer someone to tell me to fuck off then to die of cancer soon. And I've never liked Playpus,because of its lyric,so my opinion has not changed at all

[Hermione]

He said he hopes Jobs to die of cancer as soon as possible. It's a little bit different,I'd prefer someone to tell me to fuck off then to die of cancer soon. And I've never liked Playpus,because of its lyric,so my opinion has not changed at all

I'd prefer that too, but it's still only words. Nasty words but only words. He said it to shock so I can understand it getting people's attention. But I think the reaction has been over the top considering it was nothing more than an angry insult said for shock value in the heat of the moment, and considering he's said similar things before.

[Mrs. Nobody]

What a hideous thing to say

I agree with the people saying that had gossip websites etc picked up on this he could have been in a lot of trouble

/god this happened ages ago but nevermind

[Ellenkc]

It amazes me you are trying to make an argument for this, saying that Jobs has done something to deserve having a rock star say in front of thousands that he hopes he dies of cancer.

This isn't about being politically correct. Proclaiming you want someone to die of cancer is far more than just "politically incorrect".

It's just a rant. He said something offensive about a guy and told him to go die. Like Hermione said, it's pretty much the same situation as Platypus and it's simply another way to tell him to fuck off. I just don't get why everyone is so shocked at Billie acting like a bit of a dick, it's happened before and it will happen again.

[classof12]

I think he was so angry with the audience, everybody was just trying to get a good picture of Billie / the band and not paying attention to what he was saying...anyway I think he went to far

[Heather.]

I just started thinking about how Billie's dad died of cancer, and how he played WMUWSE at the Stand Up 2 Cancer benefit, and it's like.... ahhhhhhhhhhhh. But he knows he's a walking contradiction and he knows that 'sometimes I should just keep my mouth shut.' The lyrics say it all... he can be a real idiot sometimes. He knows it. It's just hard for us to understand, he's a really complex guy and sometimes seems so polite and mature, and other times he completely has no filter. Fascinating study of the human psyche, Billie Joe.

[Kayfabe]

I'd prefer that too, but it's still only words.

I literally have no understanding of people who say this.

[Hermione]

I literally have no understanding of people who say this.

I'm not denying they're nasty words. But that's what they are, nasty words. Not a curse or a spell. There's any number of horrible insults you can throw at someone, all I'm saying is the fact that this particular insult is "wishing death" on him doesn't magically put it on some other higher level that makes it more than an insult. It was a nasty insult said in anger to get a reaction, nothing more and nothing less.

And when you say "people who say this", of course that doesn't apply in every situation. Words can hurt a lot and do huge amounts of damage. However this isn't one of those situations. This is a situation where someone lost their rag on stage and said the nastiest thing that popped into their head to get a rise out of the crowd. I don't see that as something that's worth having kittens over.

[AwesomeAsFudge]

why he said that ??

it was a bit scary, specially with his voice shaking

[jamesobxfan2296]

What's it gonna do though? Actually cause him to die of cancer? It's just words. The only difference between saying that and just saying "fuck Steve Jobs" is it sounds more shocking, the meaning is exactly the same.

I'm with you here.

I first found out about this on another forum/message board where some idiot had to make a big deal about it by making a whole thread for it. I posted in it expressing my love for Green Day and I got into a huge debate with them. I assumed them to be Apple fan boys. They actually took it real seriously.

Billie is a great guy, but what he said went a little too far. I actually don't think Billie sits around his house all day saying "Man I really wish Steve Jobs would die". As some already said, he was probably having a bad day and mad at the crowd because they all seemed to be standing still with their cameras and not moshing and such. Also, he probably thought it would make him feel good if he spoke his mind to the crowd. I think he just simply dislikes Steve for other reasons.

[gmcloughlin]

Ok, I get what everyone's saying about it being only words, but seriously he went way too far.

So what if he was angry? He's an icon for alot of young people and he says that at a concert? What kinda message is he sending?

Dunno how he got away with it without any repercussions tbh

[Scarlett93]

I was there he was like in the middle of an adrenaline rush after AI he played jesus of suburbia and he even broke a guitar (the one he was supposed to give to a fan on costa rica)

I was right in front of him and I really thought he did said "I can't wait Steve Jobs to die of fucking cancer" I think he messed up really when he said so, but he was trying to make an speech and that was the first thing that came to his mind since he was talking about technology ruining everything (he was a bit upset that too many people had so many cameras there:(

I think he just got carried away on the moment

[Hermione]

Ok, I get what everyone's saying about it being only words, but seriously he went way too far.

So what if he was angry? He's an icon for alot of young people and he says that at a concert? What kinda message is he sending?

Dunno how he got away with it without any repercussions tbh

I don't think he's ever worried about being an "icon for a lot of young people" at concerts, looking at some of the things he's said and done before! But the only message he's sending is that sometimes people say nasty things when they're angry, and that he's against some aspects of technology and shitty crowds.

[deletethisaccount]

I don't think there was anything wrong with what he said. Billie is the same guy who wrote platypus, which is a whole two minutes of wishing death upon someone who has cancer, so I don't think he really cares. and I'm pretty sure he was just screaming that stuff out of emotion, anyway. When I hate someone a lot, I don't really care if they get hit by a train. I don't think that makes me crazy or anything. Besides, It's punk. A lot of people who front punk bands will say offensive things.

I'm not exactly Steve Job's biggest fan myself. Ever since that iphone came out, my friends at school would just be huddled in a circle, messing with the god damn gadget, instead of socializing. That doesn't make me want Steve Jobs to be dead, but it doesn't make me like him either. I think I understand where Billie's coming from. His rant is pretty much an aggressive version of song Static Age. The rant was just a direct way to express his hatred of technology. If he didn't mention Steve Jobs, I don't think anyone would of given a fuck. People would just be like "Oh, there goes Billie again with his shenanigans"

People should be able to say whatever they want, but people will always stomp on you for saying what you want. Like, if a comedian says a 9/11 joke, everyone will hate the guy for doing his job. I just don't think it's fair that people are always trying to be these PC heroes, telling you what you can't say or joke about. In this case, it was a guy just expressing his own view. It could be exaggerated, but it's what he said. If you have a problem with what he said, then it doesn't matter, cause Steve Job's is still alive, god damn it. Saying "I hope you die from cancer" isn't going to make you magically drop dead. It's just expressing yourself. No one wants to let people express themselves.