Elon Musk Mocks Green Day Over ‘American Idiot’ Lyric Change

During their televised performance on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on ABC, Green Day changed one of the lyrics in their hit song “American Idiot,” which has spurred rightwing meltdowns and even drew a response from the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, who mocked the pop-punk icons.

The track comes off Green Day’s 2004 concept album of the same name, which has themes rooted in culture wars and was made in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent Iraq war, among other social and political events and issues.

“American Idiot” tackles news media subversion, keen on not succumbing to hysteria often perpetuated in the news cycles.

One line, “I’m not part of the redneck agenda” was altered to reflect a more direct and current political climate as Billie Joe Armstrong sings, “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda,” referencing the former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan and his supporters who side with the twice impeached leader now facing 91 felony charges in multiple legal cases.

Watch that clip directly below.

Green Day Change “American Idiot” Lyric on TV

READ MORE: Why Are Emo + Pop-Punk Popular Again? Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Things He Knows

Elon Musk Jabs Green Day

Green Day’s antics — which are not the first time they’ve displayed their anti-Trump attitude on TV, having chanted, “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA,” during their 2016 American Music Awards performance — triggered responses from both sides of the political isle, notably agitating conservatives/right wing supporters.

Musk, who has identified as a moderate and has voted for Democratic Presidents in the past, has heavily criticized liberals and democrats in recent years.

In response to a an article about Green Days lyric-swap posted by Not the Bee, a self-described “source for news that’s so crazy, you’ll think it’s satire,” Musk jabs, “Green Day goes from raging against the machine to milquetoastedly [sic] raging for it,” followed by a pair of crying with laughter emojis.

While “milquetoastedly” is not a word, “milquetoast” is and one X user shared the definition of the word to assist those who are unfamiliar with its meaning.

And, as we’ve seen over the last couple of years, some people are ignorant of how political a number of bands have historically been.

We saw it happened with Rage Against the Machine, where clueless fans urged the band to leave politics out of their music and live shows.

The same rings true for one punk rock fan, who shared an article about Green Day’s MAGA stunt, saying, “As a punk rock girl, this turns me off. Stop bringing politics into music!!”

Of course, the expectation that every person fully understands the scope of a band’s music and personal politics is a ridiculous one. But even an acute awareness of the lyrics to “American Idiot” should draw a rather obvious and direct connection to U.S. politics, so it remains a surprising response.

Green Day in 2024

Green Day will release their 14th studio album, Saviors, on Jan. 19.

They’ll embark on a headlining North American stadium tour with summer with support from The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas. See those dates here.