Linda Perry has branded Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong a “p***y” as she alleges she was dropped from producing the follow‑up to 2004’s American Idiot.
The 61‑year‑old songwriter and producer – who has penned and produced huge pop hits including Beautiful by Christina Aguilera, What You Waiting For? by Gwen Stefani and Get the Party Started by Pink – claims the band ultimately chose to work with someone else, allegedly leaving her out of pocket.
She told NME: “I had a full calendar and cancelled six months of work to do it.
“I met with Billie Joe [Armstrong], and we talked for three hours … Like every artist, I think he had got to a point where you feel like, ‘I have nothing to say and need help’ – there’s a therapy aspect to producing too.”
A backlash from Green Day fans followed after Courtney Love let slip that Perry had landed the producing gig.
Linda recalled: “Then Courtney blabbed her mouth that I was producing. Suddenly they started getting backlash from their fans, upset they were ‘bringing in Linda Perry, who produced Pink and Christina Aguilera’.
“And then those guys just stopped calling me.
“I would reach out to figure out what was going on. Nobody called. I lost six months of scheduled work. That was f***** up – all because Billie Joe’s a little p***y and got all this backlash from his fans and didn’t like it.”
Green Day’s camp denied Perry was involved and said they had gone with Rob Cavallo, though Butch Vig ultimately produced 2009’s 21st Century Breakdown.
The 4 Non Blondes star is most annoyed that Billie Joe ghosted her, and wishes Courtney hadn’t let the news slip, because she had a “vision” for the record.
She continued: “Whatever! I’m good with it, but it was harsh and rude to do that.
“Just call me and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to go a different way. I’m not digging this backlash we’re getting’. Just balls‑up, man. Not returning my calls was such a p***y move, and I lost a lot of respect for Billie Joe.
“It happened because I was a woman and I’d written pop songs. I was disappointed in those guys, and then I was mad at Courtney because if she would have just shut up, we would have made the record and it would have come out and it would have spoken for itself. I had a vision and knew I was going to kill that record.”