Billy Joel explodes over DUI accusations: 'Keep repeating'

Billy Joel just set the record straight as he blasted long-running rumours about DUIs.

In his new HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes, the 76-year-old American singer-songwriter and pianist spoke about the “gossip” and “rumors” that came with being famous.

Joel referred to the longstanding speculation that he was charged with DUIs when he took a short break from the spotlight and said, “That never happened.”

He quipped, "I didn’t like the tabloid kind of press. 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.’ I never had a DUI. So, f**** you. The press can be mean. So having that much attention paid to you is not easy,” the five-time Grammy winner added.

Joel went on to shed light on what it was like to step away from the spotlight in the mid-2000s in the new documentary.

"At that time in his life, he was drinking a lot and over the years, he had sort of a series of calamities. He was making a mess of it in public, and when that happens, the public chorus can turn on you,” Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker staff writer, explained.

It is pertinent to mention it was the same time when the Piano Man singer had a number of car accidents, as he crashed his Mercedes-Benz in June 2022.

After six months, in January 2003, Joel drove his 2002 Mercedes-Benz into a tree in Sag Harbour and was treated overnight for head injuries.

Per the documentary, in April 2004, the Don't Ask My Why hitmaker lost control of his 1967 Citroen and ended up hitting an empty house in Bayville. That crash gave him a cut on his finger and the car had a little damage.