Billy Joel opens up about fallout with Elton John over rehab remark

Billy Joel and Elton John haven’t always seen eye to eye.

During the newly released second part of HBO’s “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” documentary, Joel revealed how John’s public push for him to enter rehab caused a major rift between the two music superstars.

“Elton had made a comment that he thought I needed real rehab,” the “Movin’ Out” singer said in the new doc. “He chalked it up to, ‘Oh, he’s a drunk.’ And that really hurt me.”

“I said, wait a minute? Don’t you know me better than that?” Joel, 76, added. “And there was bad blood for a little while. There was a dovetailing of things that happened during that time.”

The “Piano Man” singer was referring to an interview John, 78, gave Rolling Stone in 2011 shortly after the pair toured together.

After John claimed that he and Joel had “so many cancelled tours” because of “illnesses” and “alcoholism,” he suggested that the “Captain Jack” singer seek real help.

“He’s going to hate me for this, but every time he goes to rehab, they’ve been light,” the “Tiny Dancer” musician said at the time. “I love you, Billy, and this is tough love.”

Recalling how he felt after John’s interview was published, Joel said that he was “clobbered” and had hit “rock bottom.”

“I was disillusioned with what I thought it was all supposed to mean,” he said in the second part of the new HBO doc. “It was like all the signs were pointing to me: Enough.”

“And I wrote this letter to the band,” he added. “‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m gonna stop.’”

Joel previously started rehab in 2005 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.

The “Vienna” singer has since quit drinking altogether.

“I stopped 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.”

“I didn’t enjoy being completely inebriated, and it probably created more problems in my life than I needed,” he added.

Elsewhere in the new “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” documentary, the Grammy-winner revealed that he didn’t like being compared to Elton John – even if they were close friends and frequent tourmates.

“Why would I wanna work with another well-known piano player’s band?” Joel said while discussing an incident when some suggested he use John’s band.

“The lack of imagination was staggering,” he added. “And I was already having a critical issue with them comparing me to Elton.”

More recently, Joel has made headlines for a shocking brain disorder diagnosis that has forced the “Stranger” artist to cancel all his concerts through next year.

Called normal pressure hydrocephalus, the condition affects one’s hearing, vision and balance. 

Joel announced that he was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus in May, and he also revealed that he had to cancel his 2025 tour because his condition was “exacerbated by recent concert performances.”

Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period,” a statement from his team read. “Billy is thankful for the excellent care he is receiving.”

The message added that Joel is “grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage.”

Joel then opened up about his ‘scary’ brain disorder diagnosis earlier this month.

“I know a lot of people are worried about me and my health, but I’m okay,” he told People in an interview published July 21. “What I have is something very few people know about, including me, no matter how much you try to research it.”

“I’m doing my best to work with it and to recover from it,” he shared.

Sadly, the legendary songwriter’s diagnosis forced him to miss the world premiere of “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” when it played at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival in June.

Both parts of HBO’s new Billy Joel documentary are now streaming.