Billy Joel speaks out about rumors he's had DUIs in new documentary
In the newly released second part of the HBO documentary 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes,' the 76-year-old music icon responded to the longstanding rumor that he's gotten multiple DUIs over the years.
'You know, along with fame comes a lot of gossip, rumors. I didn't like the tabloid kind of press,' Joel said in the doc. 'For example, there's this rumor that I have all these DUIs. That never happened, but people keep repeating the myth: 'Oh, he's got so many DUIs.''
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6 Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in Nov. 2024.
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'I never had a DUI,' he added, 'so f–k you.'
Joel was first accused of drinking behind the wheel when he crashed a Mercedes-Benz in East Hampton, New York in June 2002. Less than a year later, he drove into a tree in Sag Harbor and had to be airlifted to a hospital.
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6 Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden in NYC in June 2023.
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The 'Uptown Girl' singer suffered another accident in April 2004 when he crashed into a house in Long Island.
The rumors about Joel led to 'Saturday Night Live' referencing his alleged drunk driving in a 2004 sketch that featured Horatio Sanz, who played the singer, chugging a bottle of pineapple schnapps and crashing into several walls and mailboxes while driving a group of girls to a party.
However, Joel has repeatedly denied that he's ever gotten a DUI.
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6 Billy Joel performs in Melbourne, Australia in Dec. 2022.
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'I had gone through a breakup and was really broken up about it, and I decided, 'I'm drinking too much. I should go to rehab,'' Joel told The New York Times Magazine in 2013. 'But people made a connection, like, 'Oh, he went there because he was in a car accident from drinking.' No.'
'I never had a DUI in my life,' he stated. 'That's another fallacy. Look at the police records.'
6 Billy Joel on Father's Day 2025.
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In his documentary, Joel called the press 'mean' and admitted that he doesn't always enjoy being in the spotlight.
'Having that much attention paid to you is not easy,' he said.
In 2005, Joel entered rehab following what he called an 'ultimatum' from his then-wife, Katie Lee.
He entered the Betty Ford Center for a stint, then temporarily stopped touring once his time at the center was over.
6 Billy Joel attends MSG Entertainment and Billy Joel special franchise announcement at Chase Square at Madison Square Garden.
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The 'Honesty' singer has been sober for several years now.
'I stopped [drinking] a couple of years ago,' Joel told the Los Angeles Times in 2023. 'It wasn't a big AA kick. I just got to a point where I'd had enough.'
6 Billy Joel at SiriusXM Studios in Los Angeles in Oct. 2024.
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'I didn't enjoy being completely inebriated, and it probably created more problems in my life than I needed,' he added.
Both parts of 'Billy Joel: And So It Goes' are now streaming on HBO Max.
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