Who Is Billie Joe Armstrong's Son? Joey Armstrong Accused Of Sexual Abuse By Ex-Girlfriend Lydia Night
Armstrong was 22 when he started dating Night, who was only 16.
Youtube Joey Armstrong has been following in his dad — Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong's — musical footsteps with his punk band SWMRS. But the 25-year-old drummer is in hot water after fellow musician Lydia Night shared details of a troubling relationship she and Armstrong had several years ago.
Night, who is only 19 years old, took to Instagram to talk about how Armstrong started making romantic and sexual overtures toward her when she was only 16. Her band, The Regrettes, was opening for SWMRS on a tour and she admired Armstrong both professionally and personally. She details how he was interested in her as well but the dynamic between them was twisted and manipulative because of the age and power difference between them.
Per Night, Armstrong was allegedly fixated on her age and insisted he didn't want a sexual relationship until she was over 18, but he spent the entire time they were together coercing her into sexual acts that gave him release. He also demanded secrecy about their relationship, probably because he knew the risks of being a 22-year-old man dating a girl in her teens.
Now that Night has spilled the beans about their shared past, Armstrong is being forced to confront the fact that he may not be the good feminist ally that he believed himself to be before this.
Who is Billie Joe Armstrong's son, Joey Armstrong?
Joey Armstrong is Billie Joe and Adrienne Armstrong's oldest child. The Armstrongs married in 1994, after several years of dating, and learned they were expecting a baby the day after their wedding. Joseph Marciano "Joey" Armstrong arrived on February 28, 1995. He was joined by younger brother Jakob Danger Armstrong on September 12, 1998. Billie Joe Armstrong's band Green Day was in its heyday as the boys were growing up and they had a front row seat to the ups and downs of musical superstardom. Throughout the kids' lives, their father strugged with mental illnesses such as anxiety as well as substance abuse issues.
Joey Armstrong is a musician as well.
Armstrong is the drummer for SWMRS, a punk band that he formed with friends Cole and Max Becker in 2004. The three men have known each other since they were little kids. By the time Cole Becker and Armstrong were 9 years old, they had already decided that being in a band was the career they wanted. They weren't entirely inspired by Armstrong's famous father, however. What really got them going was seeing kids play in a band in the Jack Black film School of Rock. "We saw School of Rock and were like, 'Oh my god, these kids are so badass!'" Becker explained. "'They’re playing music and they’re only nine years old. There’s no reason we can’t do this.'"
Armstrong with SWMRS in 2019
His father's Green Day influenced Armstrong's style, though.
The kids in School of Rock aren't the only musicians he admires. In a piece for Modern Drummer he shared that Treś Cool, the drummer for Green Day is one of his musical idols. However, he saved the title of the greatest drummer of all time for Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr.
He also has his dad to thank for his first record: Billie Joe Armstrong helped produce the album Don't Be A Dick in 2011.
Armstrong left college to pursue music.
Armstrong originally wanted to get a degree and he started school at the University of San Diego, studying music. He transferred to the New School In New York but the pull of professional music was too strong to resist. He and his bandmates had been touring over the summers for a couple of years and wanted to see if they could build on that rather than waiting. "We all started off going to college," Armstrong said in a 2019 interview, "and we just started writing songs that we felt could go a little further than just doing Summer tours so we all decided, yeah, we're going to take a little time off and see where it goes.
Armstrong likes to think of himself as a feminist.
Armstrong and SWMRS have been part of the DIY music scene, as well as the Northern California punk scene, for their entire career. In a recent statement, which you can see below, the band says that environment exposed them to the ideas of "feminism and community safety at a very young age." Armstrong and his bandmates have been forced to evaluate what this actually means to them after several friends of theirs have been accused of sexually coercing and abusing fans after concerts. The band's statement delved into the idea that young, successful musicians have historically been in a position to use their fame for sex. They struck a tone of support for the accusers and promised to try to be on the side of assault survivors instead of those perpetrating assaults.
Singer Lydia Night says Joey Armstrong abused her.
Lydia Night shared a lengthy post about her relationship with Joey Armstrong this week. Night had read the SWMRS statement about sexual abuse in the music scene and was shocked that he didn't see how he himself was guilty of the things he and his bandmates were trying to condemn. Her post detailed how he kept tight control over their relationship, including his insistence on secrecy and him making all the rules about how they would progress sexually, usually in ways that weren't satisfying to her.
Lydia Night sings for the band The Regrettes.
Armstrong accepts blame for what happened with Lydia Night ... sort of.
Armstrong is trying to own his actions with an apology on Instagram, though he made it clear that he didn't see their relationship the same way she did. “I want to address Lydia’s Instagram post about our relationship. While I don’t agree with some of the things she said about me, it’s important she be allowed to say them and that she be supported for speaking out,” he wrote. “I respect her immensely and fully accept that I failed her as a partner. I was selfish and I didn’t treat her the way she deserves to have been treated both during our relationship and in the two years since we broke up. I have apologized to her privately and I hope she can forgive me, if and when she is ready to do so. I own my mistakes and will work hard to regain the trust that I lost.”
Fans aren't impressed by his statement, however. One Instagram user commented "Incredibly disappointing statement. I looked up to you guys as good examples for young men in music. Guess I was wrong. Wish you at least said more and held more accountability and empathy for your actions."
Another follower noted that "An apology without atonement is selfish and only for the abuser to feel better. This message shows everyone exactly who you are, an abuser."
Finally, another fan summed it all up by simply saying in all-caps, "ABUSE ISN'T PUNK."
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.