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Joey Armstrong, the son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, has addressed accusations of sexual misconduct by a fellow musician. Armstrong, 25, drummer for punk rock band SWMRS, was accused of emotional abuse and sexual misconduct by Lydia Night of LA band The Regrettes in a statement posted to Instagram Monday. “What I actually …
Joey Armstrong, the son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, has addressed accusations of sexual misconduct by a fellow musician.
Armstrong, 25, drummer for punk rock band SWMRS, was accused of emotional abuse and sexual misconduct by Lydia Night of LA band The Regrettes in a statement posted to Instagram Monday.
“What I actually experienced was emotional abuse and sexual coercion by someone in a position of power over me,” Night, 19, wrote of their year-long relationship that took place when she was 16 and 17 years old.
Night wrote that Armstrong initiated a relationship via Instagram in May 2017, when she was 16 and he was 22, offering opportunities to the Regrettes. The two began seeing each other in secret while touring, though their relationship was known to members of SWMRS’ team.
She claimed Armstrong pressured her to move faster sexually than she was comfortable with and keep their relationship hidden from her parents.
Night ultimately chose to end their relationship shortly before her 18th birthday. The two bands had, however, already committed to a seven-month tour together, during which “It felt like SWMRS and their team were doing anything they could to exert power and punish me.”
She eventually confronted Armstrong about his actions in December 2019, and he apologized, sending a handwritten apology letter to her earlier this month.
On Sunday, SWMRS put out a statement in support of people coming forward with allegations like Night’s, which she described as “unbelievably hypocritical,” mentioning that Armstrong then “texted me to follow up on the letter, which was a completely transparent attempt at feeling out what I was gonna do.”
Armstrong responded to Night’s statement Tuesday via his band’s Instagram account, writing, “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.” Saying he “fully accept[s] that I failed her as a partner,” he says he “was selfish and … 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.”
Pitchfork notes that the allegations add to a rocky week in the West Coast rock scene, with influential record label Burger Records shutting down following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct levied against their artists and employees. SWMRS released a cassette tape version of their 2016 album “Drive North” on the label.
