Billy Joel dispels longstanding “myth” about personal life: “That never happened”
In his new documentary, Billy Joel has debunked the “myth” that he had several DUIs when he was out of the public eye.
In the mid-2000s, Joel put his career on pause and stepped out of the limelight. During this time, Joel suffered three serious car injuries in as many years, which led to tabloid speculation that these incidents were alcohol-related.
Joel has always denied this was the case, telling the New York Times in 2013: “I never had a DUI in my life. That’s another fallacy. Look at the police records.”
He also stated that he spiralled into a “deep, deep depression after 9/11” which also coincided with the breakdown of a relationship.
Now, in the new documentary, Billy Joel: And So It Goes, the iconic singer-songwriter once again denied he’s ever been responsible for a DUI, stating, “I didn’t like the tabloid kind of press. For example, there’s this rumour that I have all these DUIs. That never happened.”
Joel continued: “But people keep repeating the myth. ‘Oh, he’s got so many DUIs.’ I never had a DUI. So fuck you. The press can be mean. So having that much attention paid to you is not easy.”
Elsewhere in the documentary, Joel opened up about comments from Elton John, imploring him to go to rehab due to his drinking in 2011. Joel, who has been sober since 2021, toured with Elton as part of the Face to Face tour between 1994 and 2009; however, John’s public comments temporarily damaged their friendship.
“Elton had made a comment that he thought I needed real rehab,” Joel revealed in the film. “He chalked it up to, ‘Oh, he’s a drunk.’ And that really hurt me.”
Joel also said of his initial reaction to John’s remarks, “Wait a minute. Don’t you know me better than that? There was bad blood for a little while. There was a dovetailing of things that happened during that time.”
Billy Joel: And So It Goes is now available to watch on HBO Max.
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