Billy Joel, the legendary artist, has firmly and forcefully closed the door on widespread rumors of a DUI past, giving those who still peddle the urban legend a blunt “F—k you.”. In a new two-part documentary, “Billy Joel: And So It Goes,” the legendary “Piano Man” explicitly spoke out against the ongoing rumors that have haunted him for years, especially following a series of automobile mishaps in the early 2000s.
Joel’s candid declaration seeks to finally bring an end to the unfounded speculation surrounding some part of his public persona.
Accidents & Allegations: Setting the Record Straight
For years, there has been a cloud of unproven rumors surrounding Billy Joel of drunk driving charges. The rumors picked up steam after a series of car accidents he was involved in in the early 2000s. Among them was a June 2002 accident in East Hampton, New York, in which he allegedly crashed a 1999 Mercedes-Benz.
Less than a year after that, in January 2003, he was flown to a hospital after his 2002 Mercedes-Benz left the road and crashed into a tree in Sag Harbor. Another incident in April 2004 involved him driving a 1967 Citroen into an empty house in Bayville and sustaining minor injuries. In spite of these accidents, formal police report always reported no suspicion of alcohol or drug use. Joe himself, during a 2013 interview, explained these accidents as resulting from a “mental fog” and severe depression after the 9/11 incidents and a personal separation, emphatically declaring, “I never had a DUI in my life. That’s another fallacy. Look at the police records.”
He continued to make clear that his entering rehab in 2005 was because he found he was drinking too much, not because of the result of any drinking-and-driving accidents. The enduring rumors, though, even prompted a 2004 “Saturday Night Live” sketch spoofing the claims.
The Cost of Rumors: Effect on Public Image
Such endless propagation of nonsensical allegations could very well affect Billy Joel’s public image. The “DUI” story became instead a constant feature in the tabloids and indeed among his fans, steeped in fame with a career spanning over decades, counted in numbers of hits and awards. Such a rumor, nourished by tabloids, was, according to Joel, one of the most painful inflictions as an authorship told unreal stories which undermined the true legacy of artists.
While Joel has never been one to hide his own demons, fighting battles in alcohol, he refuses to take the bait when it comes to unsubstantiated claims of illegal and reckless behavior that simply had not taken place. It’s one of several reasons the filmmaker considers: This direct confrontation feels necessary to correct the falsehoods that are rooted in public consciousness-to take charge of his own narrative and clear his name once and for all.
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