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While performing in Elon Musk’s home country of South Africa, punk band Green Day replaced a lyric from ‘American Idiot’ with his name.
Elon Musk has been causing controversy this week as he steps into his new role as Administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency.
During his speech at the second inauguration of Donald Trump, Musk appeared to perform a Nazi or Roman salute several times. He declared that his ‘heart goes out to you’ before enthusiastically thrusting his arm outward toward the crowd. He later mocked the ensuing criticism on X, saying that ‘the “everyone is Hitler” attack is sooo tired.’
Wait, did Musk just do a Nazi salute? pic.twitter.com/VZChlQXSYv
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 20, 2025
One day prior, however, popular punk band Green Day had already made their feelings known on Musk and his imminent appointment into government.
While performing in Musk’s home country of South Africa, lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong replaced the original ‘American Idiot’ lyric of ‘I’m not part of the redneck agenda’ to ‘I’m not a part of the Elon agenda.’
The performance was part of the Calabash 2025 festival, where Green Day were headlining.
Billie’s decision to alter the song’s lyrical content is likely a response to Musk’s close ties to the Trump administration, and his increasingly extreme right-wing political views. The billionaire Tesla CEO caused a stir a few weeks back for his comments on the UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer and for his strong public backing of the right-wing Reform party.
It seems like a distant memory now, but there was once a time when Musk was regarded largely as a tech genius rather than a political extremist. Back in 2017, rapper and producer Tyler, The Creator mentioned the billionaire on his song ‘911/Mr Lonely’ in a positive light, associating him with innovation.
Much like Green Day, Tyler also recently changed the lyrics to this song during a live performance, instead singing ‘f*** Elon Musk’ at a show in 2024. This deliberate transformative choice is an indication of just how dramatic the shift in public perception has been toward Musk – especially amongst young people.
