Billie Joe Armstrong is the lead vocalist of the American rock band Green Day. The 51-year-old American musician was born on February 17, 1972, in Oakland, California. Together with Mike Dirnt, he co-founded the band in East Bay, California, in 1987. Along with the band’s drummer, Tré Cool, they formed the band’s power trio.
View this post on Instagram
Armstrong had been drawn to music ever since he was a child and even recorded his first song at the age of five. He met Mike Dirnt, who later became Green Day’s bassist and backing vocalist, when they were in elementary school. Their shared interest in music made them bond and even prompted them to start a band together, Sweet Children, when they were 14 years old. They later changed the band name to Green Day.
They had their breakout success in 1994 after their major-label debut “Dookie” was released. The album was a huge success, selling over 10 million copies in the US alone. It somehow cemented their spot in the music industry. Green Day, along with other California punk bands, popularized punk rock in the US.
Their most popular hits include “When I Come Around” (1994), “Basket Case” (1994), “Longview” (1994), “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” (1997), “American Idiot” (2004), and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (2004). The track “Wake Me Up When September Ends” (2005), which was also a huge hit, was dedicated to Armstrong’s father, a jazz musician and a truck driver, who died on September 10, 1982. The band has earned 214 award nominations and 92 wins throughout their career, including five Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, and six Billboard Music Awards.
With the level of success the band had reached, it is only typical for the public to have their eyes focused on the band’s frontman. Billie Joe Armstrong caught the interest of the general public as they got invested in the musician’s personal life. They were even curious about the singer’s sexuality. The question is, is Green Day gay? Read on for the answer.
VOTE: What is Green Day’s Sexuality?
Green Day’s Sexuality: On Having Queer-Coded Lyrics
Fans had always been curious about Billie Joe Armstrong’s sexuality. The rumors about the frontman’s sexuality may have sprung from the lyrics of their songs which, according to some, possessed a hint of queerness.
Green Day’s greatest hits do not only scream teen-angst, they’re queer-coded, as well, according to some fans. For example, a line in their hit track, “Coming Clean” says:
I found out what it takes to be a man, no mom and dad will never understand what’s happening to me.”
View this post on Instagram
Armstrong, and the rest of the band, have always been open about their support for the LGBTQ community. In an interview with The Advocate in 2005, the lead singer said:
We’ve always been a band that believes in equality for everybody… We’ve always been pretty outspoken about that.”
In fact, in 2010, the rock band was awarded Outstanding Music Artist by the GLAAD Media Award. Jarrett Barrios, GLAAD president, praised the band for using their platform to show their support to the members of the LGBTQ community and their allies.
Green Day is using their platform to send a message of acceptance to LGBT fans and allies everywhere, and in doing so are inspiring others in the entertainment industry to follow their lead.”
GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios said
Now that we have established two things — one, that Green Day as a band has always been an LGBTQ ally, and two, some of their lyrics were queer-coded — let’s proceed to the most important question. Is Green Day’s lead singer gay?
The answer is, yes. Billie Joe Armstrong is not straight. He is bisexual. He said it himself. The rock band’s frontman had always been open about his sexuality. He never shied away from answering questions about his personal life, even his sexual preference.
I think I’ve always been bisexual. I mean, it’s something that I’ve always been interested in. I think people are born bisexual, and it’s just that our parents and society kind of veer us off into this feeling of, ‘Oh, I can’t.’ They say it’s taboo. It’s ingrained in our heads that it’s bad, when it’s not bad at all. It’s a very beautiful thing.”
Billie Joe Armstrong to Out magazine, April 2010
There were a lot of people who didn’t accept it, who were homophobic. The fact that it’s an issue is kind of phobic within itself. At some point, you gotta think, this should be something that’s just accepted. I don’t really classify myself as anything. And when it comes to sex, there are parts of me that are very shy and conservative.”
he added
This was not the last time that the lead singer openly discussed his bisexuality. He once again talked about it in an interview with Rolling Stone in February 2014, when the band was promoting their album “Dookie”, which the singer-songwriter described as “touching on bisexuality a lot”.
This record touches on bisexuality a lot.”
he said
He also tackled how “Coming Clean”, one of the songs in the album, talks about the questions he asked himself when he was exploring his sexuality. And how it helped him make peace with his own sexual identity.
It was a song about questioning myself. There are these other feelings you may have about the same sex, the opposite sex, especially being in Berkeley and San Francisco then. People are acting out what they’re feeling: gay, bisexual, transgender, whatever. And that opens up something in society that becomes more acceptable. Now we have gay marriage becoming recognized… I think it’s a process of discovery. I was willing to try anything.”
the lead singer said
View this post on Instagram
Green Day’s Relationships
Although the lead singer admitted to being bisexual, his prominent romantic relationships were both heterosexual. Here’s what the public knows about Armstrong’s dating life.
Meet Billie Joe Armstrong’s Wife
Billie Joe Armstrong was married to his wife of 28 years, Adrienne Armstrong. She is the sister of professional skateboarder Steve Nesser. She was once dubbed as the “First Lady of Green Day” by presenter Vickie Howell.
The pair met when she attended Green Day’s concert in Minneapolis in 1990, after she asked him where she could get their album.
The rock band’s hit single “2000 Light Years Away” from their album, “Kerplunk!” was actually inspired by the couple’s first kiss.
The couple got together more or less a year after they met. They tied the knot on July 2, 1994, after dating for 4 years, in a private backyard ceremony that lasted no more than five minutes. Their greatest wedding gift came a day later when Adrienne discovered that she was pregnant with their first child, a day after they exchanged “I dos.”
Adrienne just got this ratty old dress and we got married in my backyard.”
the lead singer recalled
Their firstborn, Marciano “Joey” Armstrong, was born on February 28, 1995. They had their second son, Jakob Danger Armstrong, three years later. He was born on September 12, 1998.
When he was asked about marrying early and getting into fatherhood right away, Armstrong admitted to being impulsive in his younger years.
I was very impulsive at that time. I think that impulsive behavior was meant to counteract the chaos in my life.”
Armstrong told Rolling Stone in February 2014
Just last year, in June 2022, the singer was rumored to have cheated on his wife after a video of him with a younger woman circulated online. The video, which was originally uploaded on TikTok, showed Armstrong standing in a moving vehicle, with his head sticking out of the sunroof. He was not alone though. He had company, a younger woman, who had her arms wrapped around his neck.
Although there was nothing explicit about the video, fans were quick to assume that the lead singer was not being loyal to his wife.
Another factor that made fans assume that their 28-year marriage was going through a rough patch is the fact that his wife, Adrienne, hadn’t posted anything for their 28th wedding anniversary. Although the mother of two was not really fond of using social media, she posted a photo taken at their wedding to celebrate their 27th anniversary on July 2, 2021.
View this post on Instagram
There was no report about whether the couple was still together or not.
Anyway, before meeting his wife, Adrienne, he used to date Erica Paleno, his first serious girlfriend. They were together for three years, from 1988 to 1991. There was not much information about the relationship aside from the fact that he was 16 years old, while she was 14 when they got together.
Is Green Day Gay?
Green Day’s frontman Billie Joe Armstrong admitted to being bisexual. However, his only publicly known relationships were heterosexual and he has been married to his wife, Adrienne Armstrong, for 28 years now.