Billy Joel gives health update in first public comments since brain disorder diagnosis
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Billy Joel gives health update in first public comments since brain disorder diagnosis
“I feel fine. My balance sucks. It’s like being a boat,” Joel said while appearing on Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast. The six-time Grammy winner was diagnosed with a brain disorder known as normal pressure hydrocephalus in May. The cause of the disorder is unknown, according to the Cleveland Clinic. “I just wanted to let people know, don’t worry about me being deathly ill or anything,’ Joel told People in a story published Monday. “I don’t need you to worry for me ’cause I’m alright,” he said.
Billy Joel reassured his concerned fans by providing a health update two months after being diagnosed with a brain disorder known as normal pressure hydrocephalus.
“I feel fine. My balance sucks. It’s like being a boat,” Joel said while appearing on Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast that was released Monday. “It used to be called ‘water on the brain.’”
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Joel, making his first public comments since the May diagnosis, was seated at a piano as he spoke with Maher, at times briefly playing the melodies of some of his hits during the roughly 80-minute interview.
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Maher opened by asking Joel if his health issues were fixed.
“It’s not fixed,” Joel said. “It’s still being worked on.”
Joel’s disorder was announced May 23 on his social media accounts, with the six-time Grammy winner canceling his 17 concerts that were scheduled between July 2025 and July 2026. The statement released at the time said Joel was undergoing physical therapy to treat the disorder — where fluid buildup in or around the brain disrupts brain function, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The condition, the statement said, led to problems with hearing, vision and balance.
“They keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder,” Joel told Maher. “So, it sounds a lot worse than what I’m feeling.”
Joel, 76, told Maher that the cause of the disorder is unknown.
“I thought it must be from drinking,” Joel said, with Maher responding that the singer no longer drinks.
“Not anymore,” Joel replied. “But I used to. Like a fish.”
Joel’s interview came days after the release of the first installment of his HBO documentary “Billy Joel: And So It Goes” – which offers fans an intimate look at his life and music.
And as Joel recovers from his condition, he continues to reiterate a line from his hit “My Life”: “I don’t need you to worry for me ’cause I’m alright.”
“It was scary, but I’m OK,” Joel told People in a story published Monday. “I just wanted to let people know, don’t worry about me being deathly ill or anything.”