Billy Joel Slams Movie Biopic About His Life Helmed by 'Michael' Editor and Refuses to Hand Over Music Rights
Billy Joel has slammed a planned biopic about his life.
May 20 2026, Published 8:05 p.m. ET
Billy Joel has blasted a new unauthorized biopic about his career, helmed by Michael editor John Ottman, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Piano Man, 77, refuses to sign off on the music rights for the project, which we first mooted five years ago.
'Joel Has Not Authorized Or Supported This Project In Any Capacity'
The legendary singer has provided a strong statement distancing himself from the project.
A spokesman for Joel said, "Since 2021, the parties involved have been officially notified that they do not possess Billy Joel's life rights and will not be able to secure the music rights required for this project.
"Billy Joel has not authorized or supported this project in any capacity, and any attempt to move forward without it would be both legally and professionally misguided."
Ottman, 61, won an Academy Award for editing the Queen-focused Bohemian Rhapsody and enjoyed similar success with the recent controversial Michael Jackson biopic.
Biopic Is Not 'Hugely Dependant On Joel's Music'
The movie could still work without singer's hits, according to filmmaker Adam Ripp, who is collaborating with Ottman.
Variety was first to report the existence of Billy & Me, with Ottman's Public Access collaborator Adam Ripp attached to the script.
Ripp told The Hollywood Reporter that the upcoming project "is specifically not a traditional cradle-to-grave Billy Joel biopic, nor is it dependent on Billy Joel’s original music catalog."
The "intimate origin story," he said, is largely told through the eyes of Joel’s former manager Irwin Mazur, who, along with Joel’s friend and ex-bandmate Jon Small, provided life rights.
Joel revealed in 2025’s And So It Goes documentary that he’d twice attempted suicide after an affair with Small's then-wife Elizabeth Weber, who Joel himself ended up marrying.
'Tremendous Respect For Billy Joel'
Ottman and Ripp have never claimed to possess rights to star's songs.
Ripp also clarified that he and Ottman have "tremendous respect for Billy Joel" and have never "claimed to control or possess rights to" Joel's "iconic songs."
He also said Small saved his life after the second attempt, at which point they reconciled.
News of Billy & Me comes nearly a year to the day after Joel canceled the rest of his 2025 shows due to the neurological condition, normal pressure hydrocephalus, which had affected his "hearing, vision, and balance."
He returned to the stage in January to play for a crowd at a Florida amphitheater.
Radar told how insiders feared a full-on comeback while battling a potentially deadly brain disorder could be deadly.
"Billy was uplifted by the performance in Florida," a source said. "But people around him are terrified that if he rushes his return, it could kill him."
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The Piano Man has battled serious health issues in recent years.
Sources said the frail singer was immediately caught up in the applause and started talking about a full-time return to performing, but Dr. Mirkin, a longevity expert Dr. Gabe Mirkin who has not treated the singer, warned Joel could be making a fatal mistake.
"The last thing you want to be doing when you have his condition is traveling and exerting yourself, which is exactly what he did," he told Radar.
"You can't rush this illness. You only want to return to your career once doctors clear you to do so, you might end up in even worse straits than when you were first diagnosed."
