Billy Joel is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in popular music ever since he first hit the scene as a solo artist in the early ’70s. However, the legendary piano man has made a habit of staying away from discussing politics when he can avoid it. Now, the rocker has opened up in regards to his decision to wear a Star of David as an anti-Nazi protest back in 2017.
Last week, Billy Joel celebrated the amazing milestone of performing his 100th concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Having first played the venue back in 1978, the native New Yorker has undoubtedly had memorable moments on that stage, but nothing seems to have made the headlines like his decision to wear a Jewish Star of David back in August of 2017.
Now, in a recent interview with Vulture’s David Marchese, Billy Joel explained that his decision to do so was inspired by President Donald Trump’s comments in regards to the infamous Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia just days earlier.
“Wearing the Star of David wasn’t about politics. To me, what happened in Charlottesville was like war,” he began. “When Trump said there were good people on both sides — there are no good Nazis. There are no good Ku Klux Klan people. Don’t equivocate that shit.”
“I think about my old man: Most of his family was murdered in Auschwitz. He was able to get out but then got drafted and went in the U.S. Army. He risked his life in Europe to defeat Nazism. A lot of men from his generation did the same thing.”
“So when those guys see punks walking around with swastikas, how do they keep from taking a baseball bat and bashing those crypto-Nazis over the head?” he continued.
“Those creeps are going to march through the streets of my country? Uh-uh. I was personally offended. That’s why I wore that yellow star. I had to do something, and I didn’t think speaking about it was going to be as impactful.”
“You can probably look at every generation and find terrible things were happening,” Billy Joel continued. “But right now I can specifically look to our leader and blame it on him.”
“We have a terrible president. We have a terrible administration. Politically, I’m not happy where our country is. These children are being ripped away from their parents and then the U.S. can’t find them? This is insane. This is the antithesis of America. I think we’ll look back in shame on what’s happening at the border right now. It’s like when they rounded up the Japanese and threw ‘em in camps during the war. It’s a disgrace.”
“Whether it’s me or Bruce [Springsteen] or anyone, the patriotic thing is to stand up for your beliefs.”
Check out Billy Joel’s ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’:
