Green Day frontman's son Joey Armstrong issues statement after sexual coercion allegations

24 July 2020, 11:39 | Updated: 24 July 2020, 11:47

Green Day frontman's son Joey Armstrong and The Regrettes frontwoman Lydia Night
Green Day frontman's son Joey Armstrong and The Regrettes frontwoman Lydia Night. Picture: 1. Mike Lewis Photography/Redferns/Getty 2. FilmMagic/FilmMagic for Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival /Getty

The son of Billie Joe Armstrong has addressed a post from Lydia Night, the lead singer of The Regrettes, accusing him of "emotional abuse and sexual coercion".

Joey Armstrong, the son of Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, has publicly addressed allegations of "emotional abuse and sexual coercion" made by a fellow musician this week.

Lydia Night, the frontwoman of LA band The Regrettes, took to Instagram this Monday (20 July) to speak about her history with the SWMRS drummer, claiming he approached her on Instagram in May 2017 when she was 16 and he was 22.

After being given the opportunity to tour with the band, Night alleges the pair started a year-long relationship which she was told to keep secret from her parents.

In her post, Night shared details of their relationship, telling her followers that Armstrong pressured her to move faster sexually than she was ready to.

"He was essentially my boss and it had nothing to fo with my feelings or what I was ready for," she wrote. "Everytime we took a step sexually it was because he wanted to and made it clear by either putting my hand on his crotch, shaming me for saying I wasn't comfortable, gaslighting me or ignoring me when I didn't give consent."

Armstrong responded to Night’s statement Tuesday via his band’s Instagram account, writing: "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 added: "I respect her immensely and full accept that I failed her as a partner. I 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.

- Joey".

Bright's revelations came about as a response to a statement made by SWMRS earlier this week on the sexual abuse coming to light in the Southern California music scene.

In the post the band acknowledged the bravery of the survivors and maintained their feminist stance and support for their female fans.

They wrote: "The music industry is a chain of abuse that starts with the adults who profit off of the precariousness of youth. It is egregiously reinforced by us young men who are made to believe that we are rockstars."

See their full post below:

View this post on Instagram

Cw: abuse

A post shared by SWMRS (@swmrs) on

If you or anyone you know has been affected by this story, please seek help from the helplines below:

Living Without Abuse

lwa.org.uk/understanding-abuse/abusive-relationships/emotional-and-psychological-abuse

Tel: 0808 80 20 200 28

NSPCC

nspcc.org.uk

Sexual Abuse Link

Tel: 0808 800 5000 (24 hours, every day)

Refuge

refuge.org.uk

Tel: 0808 2000 247

Victim Support

victimsupport.org.uk

Tel: 0808168 9111

The Samaritans

Tel: 116 123

samaritans.org

Mind

mind.org.uk

Tel: 0300 123 3393