Green Day have released a statement in response to the criticism they have faced over the weekend after their set at the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid on Friday.
Tragically, an acrobat by the name of Pedro Aunion Monroy who was performing on the stage in between sets, fell 100 feet to his death. He was taken to hospital and later died from his injuries.
The band took the stage 45 minutes later and played their set in full, leading to accusations of disrespect and insensitivity - although festival organisers said in a statement that their show went again "for security reasons".
However, Billie Joe Armstrong and co. claim that they were not aware of the incident.
They took to Twitter to explain their side of the story:
We just got off stage at Mad Cool Festival to disturbing news. A very brave artist named Pedro lost his life tonight in a tragic accident
— Green Day (@GreenDay) July 8, 2017
Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends
— Green Day (@GreenDay) July 8, 2017
They later released a statement on their website, saying:
"Many of you are wondering why we continued to play our show after the accident. Green Day did not hear about the accident until after our show was over. We didn't even know there was an acrobat performance at all," wrote Armstrong.
"These festivals are huge. There are so many things happening at the same time it's impossible to keep up with every performer/artist. We were in a back stage compound about a half-mile away from the main festival stage."
He added: "We were warming up ready to go at 11:25 pm. 15 minutes prior our tour management was told by local authorities to wait to go on stage because there was some sort of security issue. Security issues are a normal occurrence and procedure at any show. We were NOT told why which is also normal."
He said that the band played their two-hour set - which was the final gig of their European tour - as normal, and afterwards "got off stage and drove back to our artist compound. It was there when we were told the shocking news about Pedro. All of us were in disbelief. I don't know why the authorities chose not to tell us about the accident before our concert. All we know is what was said after our concert."
He concluded: "What happened to Pedro is unthinkable. Once again we are heartbroken for his friends and family. We are also shocked and heartbroken for anyone that had to witness this tragedy."