American rock band Green Day won the MTV Global Icon Award at Sunday night's MTV European Music Awards (EMAs) and used their platform to complain about the U.S. election and take a major swipe at Donald Trump.
Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who has compared Donald Trump to Hitler, accepted the award on behalf of the band saying, "It's nice to be out of America just for a second because of this horrendous election that's going on right now that has the entire country about to have one big collective heart attack."
The band then proceeded to perform their 2004 hit "American Idiot," an anthem written in protest of the Iraq War and George W. Bush. But on the EMAs, the band changed the lyrics. Instead of singing the profane 4th line, "The subliminal mind fuck America," it was changed to "The subliminal mind Trump America."
Armstrong: Wow. Thanks a lot. I've got to say one thing. It's really nice to be in Europe right now. It's especially nice to be in Holland. We've been coming here for many years. We've been coming here since we were, gosh, just a little bit older than you guys. But it's -- but most of all it's nice to be out of America just for a second because of this horrendous election that's going on right now that has the entire country's about to have one big collective heart attack. So in good health we are here in Rotterdam, and we're very grateful for an amazing career that spans -- it's the same high school band that we've been in for 30 years. Anyways, thanks a lot, MTV. Thanks a lot. We'll be back on tour. And stay sexy, my friends.
♪♪ Don't wanna be an American idiot ♪♪ ♪♪ don't want a nation under the new mania ♪♪ ♪♪ can you hear the sound of hysteria ♪♪ ♪♪ the subliminal mind Trump America ♪♪ ♪♪
This isn't the first time the group used their lyrics to bash Trump, in September the band changed the lyrics in their song "Holiday" from "pulverize the Eiffel Tower" to "pulverize the Trump Towers."
So clever. I think we all know who the real American idiots are here.
