Billy Joel is not dead, publicist confirms following Google death error
Billy Joel inducts longtime agent Dennis Arfa into the Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame in Stony Brook on June 6. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Contrary to what Google may have told you, Billy Joel is not dead.
Search results for "Billy Joel" on Thursday included an informational box that read: "Died Sept. 17, 2026."
"Billy’s not dead," the singer’s publicist, Claire Mercuri, said firmly Thursday afternoon. "I was just emailing with him."
A Google search on Billy Joel mistakenly indicates that he died on Sept. 17, 2026. Credit: Google
A view of the Google search results box for Billy Joel, which briefly displayed his death as Sept. 17, 2026, on Thursday. Credit: Newsday
"This is no longer appearing, and was not a manual change by Google," a Google spokesperson said by email on Thursday evening. "When people vandalize public info sources, this can affect the information that appears in Search."
Joel isn’t the first celebrity whose death has been reported prematurely. Google mistakenly declared rapper Eminem dead in 2023. After a Facebook page announced the death of Jackie Chan in 2013, the Hong Kong actor responded on his own Facebook page with a photo of himself showing that day’s date. Another fake social media post may have led to the rumors of Cher’s demise in 2012. And after Wikipedia reported actor-comedian Sinbad dead of a heart attack in 2007, he jumped on the phone with The Associated Press.
Joel, 77, canceled all tour dates last year following a diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus, a brain disorder that can cause problems with hearing and balance, but has occasionally appeared on shows such as "Club Random With Bill Maher" and Rick Beato’s YouTube podcast. On his SiriusXM channel last week, he informed fans that he had undergone surgery to install a shunt in his brain.
"I noticed that my balance was not good. I had this sense of, like, being on a boat, like this rocking motion," Joel said. A neurologist diagnosed him with NPH, warned him that the disorder could worsen and recommended a shunt, which involves drilling a hole in the skull and inserting the device into the brain, Joel explained. He agreed to have the surgery after learning it could improve his memory.
"I just want people to know, don't worry about me," the Hicksville-raised singer said. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here. I’m still here."
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