Saying this was a publicity stunt is silly. Show me one person who bought the album because he went to rehab. |
That's not how it directly works.
Suddenly there's this big headline about Green Day being a wreck right before album release. Suddenly people who remember American Idiot, but aren't Green Day fans, may check out the record. May love a single. May buy the single or record. So on and so on.
I bet a few thousand did.