Elton John Says Billy Joel 'Coasting' Artistically After Rehab; Joel Shrugs it Off

Feb. 2, 2011 — -- Elton John predicted that his friend Billy Joel would "hate" him for comments he made in the new issue of Rolling Stone, Among other things, John, a former drug addict, accused Joel of "coasting" artistically, and admonished him for not putting himself through a strenuous enough rehab program to conquer his "alcoholism" once and for all.

But Joel isn't taking offense at John's candor.

In a statement provided today to ABC News Radio by Billy Joel's spokeswoman, Claire Mercuri, the Grammy-winning artist said, "I've worked with Elton for such a long time and I've enjoyed our relationship too much to let something as random as these comments change my affection for him. Elton is just being Elton."

This isn't the first time that Joel has had to respond to comments that John made in the press about him. In February 2010, John told reporters that he was "heartbroken" that Joel had "canceled" an additional summer leg of their joint "Face 2 Face" tour, but Joel denied it, saying that that tour leg was never booked, and he was simply taking some time off.

In the February 17th issue of Rolling Stone, John claims that he and Joel were forced to cancel dates on their joint tours from time to time due to Billy's alcoholism. Joel has had two stints in rehab – one in 2002 and one in 2005 – but John evidently feels those programs should've been tougher. He tells Rolling Stone, "I love you, Billy...you have your demons and you're not going to get rid of them at 'rehab lite.' You've got to be serious."

John also tells Rolling Stone that he feels as though Joel is "coasting" because he hasn't released an original album of pop songs since 1993. As John tells the magazine, "I always say, 'Billy, can't you write another song?' It's either fear or laziness. It upsets me. Billy's a conundrum."