Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

Arts & Entertainment

Green Day Frontman Kicked Off Airplane For Sagging Pants


By

Ben Yakas

Published Sep 3, 2011

Modified Sep 3, 2011


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .

Mr. Saggy Pants

 


By

Ben Yakas

Published Sep 3, 2011

Modified Sep 3, 2011


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Woe is the plight of an "American Idiot"—Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong claims he was kicked off of a Southwest Airlines flight because of his sagging pants. He Tweeted on Thursday: "Just got kicked off a southwest flight because my pants sagged too low! What the f--- No joke!"

ABC Associate Producer Cindy Qiu happened to be on the flight and witnessed the incident: "Basically, all the passengers were already seated, we were ready to go, they had already told us to start to turn our cellphones off," when Armstrong was approached by a flight attendant and told to pull his pants up. He initially responded, "Don't you have better things to do then worry about that?" The attendant threatened to remove him from the flight, and he snapped back, "I'm just trying to get to my f--king seat." Someone did not have the time of their life.

Since the incident came to light, Southwest Airlines sent out an apology Tweet to Armstrong: "Very sorry for your experience tonight, someone from our Customer Relations Team will reach out to you to get more details." They followed that with a statement saying, "We followed up with this Customer and involved Employees to get more details and, in our latest conversations, understand from the Customer the situation was resolved to his satisfaction." Would Southwest be as concerned if it were a non-celebrity who was treated like this? We are glad that Southwest had the time to listen to Billie Joe whine.

Tagged

airplane

billie joel armstrong

green day

sagging pants

southwest airlines


Ben Yakas

Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE arts-entertainment

A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson

"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.

By

Sonia Rao

Published Oct 13, 2026


The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?

Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.

By

Lindsay Lee Wallace

Arts & Entertainment

The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?

Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.

By

Lindsay Lee Wallace


Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?

By

James Ramsay

What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.

By

Jayson Greene

Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City

By

Sonia Rao


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .