Green Day Censored During Super Bowl Performance

Green Day have been no strangers to controversy throughout their career since their formation back in 1987, with the band celebrating their 40th anniversary next year, so why should the Super Bowl be any different?

The group — comprised of lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tré Cool — performed at the opening ceremony ahead of Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California before the big game formally kicked off.

The brief performance, a warm-up for the headliner Bad Bunny and his halftime show, included a medley of their hits Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), Holiday, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, and their signature song, American Idiot.

American Idiot, an all-guns-blazing rock frenzy released back in 2004, is often used as a protest song for various causes by both fans and Green Day itself. However, political statements were not the issue the NFL had to deal with during this Super Bowl opener.

The band actually skipped the politically-charged second verse of the iconic song, but still ended up being briefly censored during the televised broadcast. The verse has been chopped and changed a few times in the 22 years since its release, with Armstrong and co. using the moment to reflect on current events. The issue this time was that Armstrong included the lyrics  “the subliminal mindf**k America," and that just doesn't fly with the football league on what they deem to be family viewing. The curse word was cut out from the televised version of the opening ceremony.

This four-letter word isn't the only controversial part of the song. The original lyrics contain the f-slur, which is a derogatory term for homosexual men. Armstrong, who is bisexual, includes the word in the song as a sort of ownership of the hatred being spewed at him by the enemy in the rock classic. However, many live performances, like this one, skips the slur entirely.