Elton John Says Billy Joel “Hates” Him, but Billy Says he doesn’t. When Elton John outed Billy Joel as an alcoholic in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he said he was doing it out of “tough love.” Billy dismissed it as “Elton being Elton.” Elton says Billy is a lot angrier about it than he let on.
On the Today Show yesterday, Elton said, “He hates me at the moment. He sent me a message and he’s not happy. I understand that. I’m sorry I had to say it, but I’m saying it because I really want Billy to live a long life and be very happy. That’s all it came from. I understand why he’s mad at me. I’m only trying to help. Maybe I should have done it privately, but I’ve been so frustrated over the years. And I love the guy.”
It doesn’t sound like Elton plans on taking any of it back, and has accepted that this may mean Billy won’t want to talk to him for a while. He said, “I can take that on the chin. Years ago when I was using, people tried to confront me, and I didn’t talk to them for years. I thought ‘How dare you talk to me like that’. I do love him. He may want to punch my face in at the moment, but it’s OK.” Later, Billy issued a response and while he denied that he hated Elton, the statement seemed pretty terse. He said, “I do not hate Elton John. I do not want to punch him in the face. If he wants to call me, my number is still the same. Good luck with the movie.”
