Controversy

The band has generated controversy over whether the band's musical style and major-label status constitutes "true punk".^[110] In reaction to both the style of music and the background of the band, John Lydon, former front man of the 1970s punk band the Sex Pistols commented:

So there we are fending off all that and it pisses me off that years later a wank outfit like Green Day hop in and nick all that and attach it to themselves. They didn't earn their wings to do that and if they were true punk they wouldn't look anything like they do.^[111]

Armstrong himself has discussed the group's status of being a punk band on a major record label, saying "Sometimes I think we've become totally redundant because we're this big band now; we've made a lot of money – we're not punk rock any more. But then I think about it and just say, 'You can take us out of a punk rock environment, but you can't take the punk rock out of us.'"^[110]