Billy Joel blindsided by Elton John in painful public moment

Billy Joel has finally opened up about the pain he felt when long-time friend Elton John publicly urged him to enter rehab.

The 76-year-old American singer-songwriter and pianist talked about how John’s public comment that he was in need of rehab affected their relationship in the sophomore part of the HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes.

Referring to the Cold Heart crooner’s interview with Rolling Stone in 2011, Joel said, "Elton had made a comment that he thought I needed real rehab. He chalked it up to, 'Oh, he’s a drunk.' And that really hurt me."

He added, "I said wait a minute? Don’t you know me better than that? And there was bad blood for a little while. There was a dovetailing of things that happened during that time."

For the unversed, the You’re My Home hitmaker and the 78-year-old British singer-songwriter and pianist are long-time pals and toured together for years, after starting touring together on their Face to Face tour in 1994.

It is pertinent to mention that in the first part of the film, Billy Joel admitted that he once “resented” being compared to Elton John but he ended up embracing it with the passage of time.