Billie Joe Armstrong throws an epic tantrum at iHeart Radio Music Festival 2012
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong was visibly drunk when the band played the 2012 iHeart Radio festival in Las Vegas. He made no secret of his contempt for the show, loudly complaining about how little time they’d been given to perform. Frustrated, Armstrong cut short their closing rendition of Basket Case and trashed his guitar on stage. Days later, he checked into rehab.
Keith Richards whacks a stage invader with his guitar
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards did not take kindly to an audience member jumping on stage during a 1981 gig in Hampton, Virginia. As the stage invader ran toward Richards and Mick Jagger, the guitarist grabbed his Fender Telecaster by the neck and violently struck the man twice. As security took him off, Richards strapped the guitar back on and kept playing.
Josh Homme loses it at a kid in the crowd at Norwegian Wood 2008
When Queens of the Stone Age played the Norwegian Wood festival in 2008, frontman Josh Homme was sick with a high fever, and lost it when an adolescent male in the crowd threw something at him. Homme hurled a long tirade of abuse at the youngster riddled with coarse language and homophobic slurs, threatening to do him physical harm. Security escorted the offender out.
Jim Morrison is arrested on stage after allegedly exposing himself
When The Doors played the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami on March 1st, 1969, Jim Morrison revealed his contempt for his newfound celebrity status. Drunk, the singer called the audience “a bunch of f***ing idiots,” and allegedly exposed himself. This led to Morrison being arrested on charges of indecent exposure. He was sentenced to six months behind bars, but died in Paris before serving his time.
Shirley Manson threatens to send the entire crew after a spitting audience member
At a July 2005 show in Wiesen, Austria, Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson didn’t appreciate someone in the audience spitting at her. Scanning the crowd to find the guilty party, Manson angrily declared that she would “get all these [security] men, including my own f***ing crew, to come find you, take you outside, and f*** you up like you ain’t never been f***ed up before!”
Dave Grohl stops a show to get rid of a fighting audience member
Foo Fighters founder Dave Grohl is renowned as one of the friendliest guys in rock, but he can still get angry. At London’s Roundhouse in 2011, Grohl stopped the music over a fight that had broken out in the audience. Enraged, Grohl demanded the guilty party leave: “You don’t come to my show and fight, you come to my show and f***ing dance, you a**hole!”
Paul Stanley hurls abuse at an audience member shining a laser pointer in his eyes
Kiss might be famed for their onstage pyrotechnics, but they’d rather be the ones controlling the flashy things. Playing Portland in 2009, Paul Stanley didn’t enjoy having a laser pointer shone in his eyes, declaring, “if y’all wanna see me shove a laser pen up some motherf***er’s a**, it’s that guy right there,” and hurling a few more insults before continuing with the show.
Courtney Love goes off on people holding up pictures of Kurt Cobain
Performing with Hole at Brazil’s SWU Festival in 2011, Courtney Love didn’t appreciate seeing photos of her dead husband Kurt Cobain in the crowd. Love complained, “I don’t need to see a picture of Kurt, a**hole… I have to live with his s*** and his ghost and his kid every day… I’m going to beat the f*** out of you if you do it again.”
Chad Kroeger flips off the audience after a rock is thrown at his head in Portugal
It didn’t take long for Nickelback to become one of the most hated rock bands around. At a 2002 festival in Portugal, they were just two songs into their set when rocks were thrown at them. Chad Kroeger stopped to ask, “are there any Nickelback fans in Portugal?” Moments later a rock hit him in the head, and Kroeger walked offstage flipping the crowd off.
The Sex Pistols turn on their audience at their last ever gig
After a meteoric rise to fame, British punks the Sex Pistols rapidly unravelled on a chaotic US tour, ending in a show at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom on January 14th, 1978. Visibly miserable throughout, singer Johnny Rotten closed the shambolic set with the words, “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated? Good night.” This would be their last show, and the band split soon thereafter.
Eric Clapton orders minorities to leave the show
Eric Clapton: great guitarist, awful person. Back at a 1976 show, he advised “foreigners” to raise their hands before leaving. “The Black w**s and c***s and Arabs and f***ing Jamaicans don’t belong here, we don’t want them here,” an “extremely drunk” Clapton said. “This is England, this is a white country, we don’t want any Black w**s and c***s living here. We need to make clear to them they are not welcome.”
Dexter Holland slates Woodstock gropers
The Offspring’s frontman Dexter Holland foresaw the trouble brewing at New York’s infamous Woodstock revival in 1999. During their Friday performance, the singer stopped to announce: “I see a lot of girls passing overhead and they’re getting really f***ing groped. They ought to be able to do that without getting molested. So if you’re a guy and you have a girl passing over you, do me a favor and give her a f***ing break.”
Wes Scantlin claims someone stole his home
During a 2016 show in Australia, Wes Scantlin, the frontman for Puddle of Mudd, went on a rant to fans about someone stealing his home. Tired of his behaviour, his bandmates walked offstage, cancelling the show. Scantlin tried to explain but his mic was cut. Fans began to boo the singer, with one calling him a “disgrace”.
Sly Stone asks how long he has to play
Sly Stone mumbled his way through a comeback set at 2010’s Coachella, stopping to ask how much longer he had to perform until he got paid. Then he went after his ex-manager Jerry Goldstein, whom he’d sued for $50 million months prior over apparent unpaid royalties. Stone forgot to mention he signed away his royalties in 1989.
A$AP Rocky fights his fans
During A$AP Rocky’s SXSW appearance in 2012, a fan decided to throw a beer can onstage, hitting a member of the rapper’s crew. Rocky tried to establish peace… until another can was thrown. Rocky and his crew then leapt into the crowd and proceeded to beat them up. You have to love live music!
Elton John tells intrusive fans to “f*** off”
Elton John loves the stage. Well, unless he invites a fan onto it who then tries to high five him mid-song. Then he hates it. Video shows the Rocketman veteran barking “F*** off!” twice to the same fan at a Vegas concert in March 2018 before getting up and leaving. When he returned to his piano, John declared: “No more coming on stage on Saturday night. You f***ed it up!”
Kanye West orders two fans in wheelchairs to stand up and dance
When Kanye West tells you to stand up, you stand up. Unless you physically can’t. No wait, forget that. Stand up. That’s how he sees it, anyway. “This is the longest I’ve had to wait to do a song, it’s unbelievable,” Ye said during a 2014 Sydney concert. When the audience told him the two people seated were in wheelchairs, he asked a security guard to confirm. “He is in a wheelchair?” Kanye said. “OK, you fine!”
Marilyn Manson accuses fans of not loving him enough
Who’d have thought Marilyn Manson would ever get to a point where he begged for love and acceptance? “Once he was temporarily satisfied, it didn’t improve,” a crowd member wrote on Instagram following a 2018 Manson gig. “There were very drawn-out versions of songs where Manson mostly rambled on about our lack of love and other bizarre things. After an hour and fifteen minutes of this, he threw his microphone and left the stage.”
Ryan Adams stops a gig to accuse fans of damaging his health
At a Sydney concert in 2012, Ryan Adams sounded off on fans after they repeatedly flashed him with cameras. As a sufferer of Ménière’s Disease, Adams wasn’t too happy. “If somebody flashes lights in front of my eyes, LED or otherwise, while I’m onstage and starts a pattern of lights in front of me for long enough, I’m going to have a Ménière’s attack, I’m going to have an episode,” he warned.
Bebe Rexha slates fans for not singing along
You will hurt Bebe Rexha’s feelings/fail to feed her ego if you don’t sing along to her tunes. At a 2019 LA concert, the pop singer cut herself off during the song Meant to Be after fans failed to join in. “This song was number one for 50 f***ing weeks,” she yelled. “I’m from Staten Island, New York, and I’m standing on this stage right here. You’re going to sing the f***ing words if you know the f***ing song.”
Justin Bieber rudely rejects his fans’ gifts
In July 2016, Justin Bieber yelled at fans in Atlantic City for committing the sin of throwing him gifts. “If we could take this moment to listen, and try not to give me a hat or whatever you’re trying to throw on stage right now because I probably don’t want that s***,” he told the crowd. Ungrateful AND a potty mouth – not good, Justin!
Travis Scott cusses out VIP attendees
Don’t go on your phone at a Travis Scott show, even if you’re a hotshot celebrity in the VIP section. Back in 2017, the rapper became enraged when he spotted people texting during his concert. “All you n****s that’s behind the gate that’s on y’all phones,” he said. “Y’all n****s can take your a** home, or y’all can come back and watch the show.”
Jeffree Star lashes out after being groped
YouTuber Jeffree Star got understandably angry when an eager fan touched his crotch mid-performance at a 2019 show in California. “If anyone ever touches my crotch again, I will beat your motherf***ing a** outside, b***h,” he said. “I do not need to be disrespected. If anyone ever disrespects any of you guys, beat the s**t out of them!”
Madonna orders fans to stop smoking
Madonna wasn’t best pleased with all the secondhand smoke wafting onto the stage during a December 2012 concert in Chile. “If you’re gonna smoke cigarettes, I’m not doing a show,” she said. “I’m not kidding. I can’t sing if you smoke. Entiendes? If you love me then don’t smoke. No smoking! You’re looking right at me while you’re smoking cigarettes like I’m a stupid f***ing idiot.”
Alex Turner tells fans to be quiet
It takes a lot to make Alex Turner angry, but some fans managed it at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam in May 2023. Distracted through several songs by chattering fans, the Arctic Monkeys frontman stopped to ask, “What could they possibly be talking about?” Later on, Turner said simply: “Silence!”
Rihanna condemns food waste
At a 2010 gig in Manchester, Rihanna lashed out after fans showered her with chips. “I knew you guys were crazy but you guys are the next level,” she said. “There’s a good crazy and there’s a bad crazy. When you throw s*** up here, that’s an epic fail. I swear to god, cut that s*** out. Really, chips? Chips though? That’s that important?’
Cardi B throws microphone at her fans
While performing in Las Vegas in July 2023, Cardi B went viral after a drink was tossed over her on stage. Shocked by the onslaught, the rapper didn’t hesitate to throw her mic at the fan. Moments before, she had asked the crowd to splash her with water. That’s some WAP (Water Associated Problems)!
Miranda Lambert asks fans to stop taking selfies
Miranda Lambert isn’t too high-maintenance, but she expects fans to pay attention at her concerts. In Las Vegas in July 2023, the country singer was performing when she noticed people taking selfies. “These girls are worried about their selfie and not listening to the song, it’s p***ing me off a little bit,” Lambert said. “We’re here to hear some country music tonight.”
Nick Jonas objects to a bra being thrown at him
Nick Jonas might have gotten hot under the collar seeing a bra hurtling his way back in his single, purity-ring days. But now? He’s a married man. He doesn’t have time for such degeneracy. At an August 2023 concert, a video showed Jonas ducking and then tutting at the sight of an airborne bra. “No, no,” he mouthed.
Aaron Lewis kicks out a groper
Staind’s Aaron Lewis laid down the law after a female crowdsurfer was groped during a June 2014 gig in Kansas City. “Alright, listen up you f***ing a******s,” he said. “That little girl is 15 f***ing years old and you pieces of s*** are molesting her when she’s in the crowd. Your mothers should be ashamed of themselves. You should be beaten down by everyone around you.”
Layne Stanley kicks out a Nazi
A rock show is for dudes and dudettes, not white supremacist sociopaths. Alice in Chains had to come across the latter during a 1993 concert in Stockholm and dealt with it like it was NBD. Singer Layne Stanley invited the Nazi onstage, sparked him out and got security to drag him off. “F***ing Nazi die,” he said
Black Veil Brides challenge a heckler to play their instruments
At a 2015 show in Vancouver, Black Veil Brides’ Andy Biersack dealt with a heckler by singling him out and challenging him to come and play their guitars. Before the heckler had a chance to respond, Biersack dove right into the crowd to pummel him, though security had other ideas.
Architects deal with groper
Architects’ lead singer Sam Carter has no time for mosh pit assault, as was revealed during a Netherlands performance in 2015. Bringing the gig to a halt, Carter said: “I’m going over in my mind whether I should say something or not. I saw a girl crowd surfing over here and I’m not going to point the piece of s*** out that did it, but I saw you grab at her boob and that is disgusting. There’s no place for that s***.”
Eddie Vedder breaks up a rowdy scuffle
Eddie Vedder stopped a Pearl Jam concert in Zurich in 2022 after spotting a fan being rude to a woman in the crowd. Ordering the the crowd to clear out, Vedder checked the woman was OK before continuing the show like nothing ever happened.
George Fisher looks after himself
When Cannibal Corpse’s Corpsegrinder George Fisher was hit by a bottle at a Texas show in 2011, he had no patience for the culprit, saying: “I swear to God if I saw who threw it, I’ll kill your f***ing mother, I’ll f***ing kill your father and make him f*** your dad mother. You don’t need to worry about security. I’m my own security.”
Corey Taylor dedicates song to ejected fan
During a 2011 book promotion tour, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor had some guitar picks snatched by an eager fan. After a security guard threw the invader out, Taylor then broke out into a rendition of Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.
Bruce Dickinson picks on someone his own size
At a July 2022 Greece show, Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson singled out a big guy roughing up some fellow concert-goers. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own f***ing size? The f***ing guy that the bouncers are too scared to take on because he’s bigger than they are.”
Carlos Santana makes his thoughts on transgenderism clear
Carlos Santana dipped his toe into the culture wars during a July 2023 gig in New Jersey, declaring to the audience: “When God made you and me before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are. Later on when you grow up, and you see things and you start believing that you could be something that sounds good but you know it ain’t right, because a woman is a woman and a man is a man – that’s it.”
Matthew Good suggests people should be shot
At a British Columbia gig in October 2022, Matthew Good, of the Matthew Good Band, suggested anti-vax protestors should be put on planes to the Congo, where “They can get off and, like, 14-year-olds can fire AK-47s at them.” At the time, many “freedom” protests were taking place outside hospitals in Canada.
Michelle Shocked shocks fans with a homophobic rant
During a concert in San Francisco in March 2013, former-leftie-turned-Christian Michelle Shocked voiced her thoughts on Proposition 8, California’s legal definition of marriage being a union between a woman and a man. “When they stop Prop 8 and force priests at gunpoint to marry gays, it will be the downfall of civilisation, and Jesus will come back,” Shocked said.