Just because two parents are divorced doesn’t mean they can’t work together for the sake of their children. Billy Joel and ex-wife Christie Brinkley have done just that, by issuing a joint statement this morning on behalf of their troubled 23-year-old daughter, Alexa Ray, who was hospitalized after a suicide attempt earlier this week. Both Joel and Brinkley expressed anger at some of the tabloids for their factual inaccuracies in the days after their daughter’s hospitalization, especially the NY Post.
Alexa Ray Joel’s long-divorced mom and dad, Christie Brinkley and Billy Joel, are teaming up for a heavy-duty round of defense.
Shortly after the 23-year-old musician was rushed to the hospital for an apparent suicide attempt, the New York Post ran a story about a recent family vacation gone awry. Needless to say, that family was less than thrilled.
“Every parent can imagine the pain and anguish we face as parents of a daughter who is working to recover from the dangerous actions she took while suffering a devastating heartbreak,” Billy, 60, and Christie, 55, said in a joint statement issued this morning. “As much as we hate dignifying tabloid stories with a response, we feel we must set the record straight to protect our family.”
Then they rip into the newspaper.
“The story that ran in the New York Post on December 8th, and has been subsequently spread across the Internet, is filled with vicious lies and attempts to smear our character and that of our beloved daughter. We ask the public and legitimate media outlets to please ‘consider the source’ and to not further exacerbate our daughter’s situation by repeating and legitimizing these false reports.”
They even sign the statement together: “With much appreciation, Billy Joel & Christie Brinkley.”
Billy and Alexa’s rep, Claire Mercuri, tells E! News the family is not seeking legal action against the New York newspaper.
It would be nice if folks would just leave Alexa alone for a little while and let her get herself together. It would be even better if the tabloids would get the facts right before rushing off to the presses. I always take the NY Post’s reports with a huge grain of salt- they usually end up being a bunch of bull, loosely held together by a couple nuggets of truth. Whatever is going on, it looks like Alexa’s parents have circled the wagons and are trying to protect her. I hope she is getting the help she needs and is able to recover in private.
Billy Joel is 60 already??? Holycrap!
They’ll have their beloved daughter in rehab and fix that broken heart right up! Interesting that she needed to OD instead of talk to her mom/dad about ScumBoy.
Poor thing. You have to be in a really bad emotional place to take those steps. I’m glad that her parents can put all their personal history aside while she needs them.
Yes, it’ the media’s fault that Alexa Ray decided to kill herself because of a fight or a break up with a boyfriend. As part of her therapy she should go visit some people who really have something to overcome and then she’ll realize how incredibly blessed she has been in this lifetime. Go visit some sick children or volunteer at a homeless shelter and then she’ll realize that a relationship is over, nothing more.
“Go visit some sick children or volunteer at a homeless shelter and then she’ll realize that a relationship is over, nothing more.”
I think this is a pretty insensitive remark, frankly. Who are we to know why she did this? The girl has had to deal with not only a breakup, but the loss of both her step-parents in truly nasty divorces, all within the last what year? Her entire family structure has been torn to shreds, no wonder she felt suicidal.
@ hmm – Wow, I’m glad I don’t know you in real life. You’re one of those jerks who doesn’t believe in mental illness, right? It’s just feeling sorry for yourself, or blowing things out of proportion, huh?
Your comment is so wrong I don’t know where to begin. Just…. How dare you?
Nowhere in the Joel/Brinkley statement do they blame the media for her depression or overdose. They are trying to derail a viral rumor that started AFTER the overdose.
That was an insensitive remark, but on the other hand I can also see why hmm might think that way. Alexa is a privileged young woman who has possibly had a much nicer life than many of us, what has she got to be so bummed out about? The thing is, no matter where you’re at on the socioeconomic ladder, you can still have problems. I wish her well.
Wow Christine reminds me of Ali Larter in that header pic.
Poor kid. Poor poor kid.
That one comment was so insensitive and I assume there will be more to follow. I NEVER comment here, just like to read and am usually quite impressed by the attitudes of the readers of this site but that was a low blow.
As someone who has suffered depression for years I take huge offence to that comment. I have an outwardly perfect seeming life and have been given more opportunities than most people. I have a loving family and have never had to overcome huge obstacles. That does not change the fact that people can still suffer from debilitating depression and other mental illness. Mental illness is a serious problem and not just a case of having the blues because life gets hard.
Comments like that contribute to the stigma that any mental illnes continues to carry. People don’t want to admit their problem to others or get help for fear of being labelled as “hmm” has just done. Instead many people suffer in silence as they DO realize that their lives look great to outsiders and that is exactly what causes the types of actions that this young lady has taken.
Rant over, going back to reading about fluffy gossip. Thanks CB for treating this, and all issues, with great dignity.
I think Alexa looks cuter in that photo with Christie than I’ve ever seen her look. I feel very sorry for both Christie and Billy Joel, because they are bound to be guilt-ridden by their daughters actions and subsequent press coverage, but they won’t be allowed to act repentant or they’ll be dragged through the mud. Not that I think they should be repentant (I don’t know enough about the situation), but as a parent that would be the second thing I’d do (after first taking care of my daughter).
@ Nicky – Well said
First off, hmmm, what do you know about her life? Maybe she has volunteered in the ways you mentioned.
Secondly, money does NOT equal happiness. (well, to an extent it does, having food on the table is pretty freakin important.) But imagine what she has sacrificed, through no choice of her own, to be born into her money: an alcoholic father, a mother who controls everything and has horrible taste in men, a revolving door of step-parents, constant public scrutiny saying that you’re not as pretty as your mother, not enough talent to outshine your father who everyone compares you to. I’d say that those are enough burdens to say that the millions of dollars isn’t worth it. I for one, have empathy for her.
Hmm, you clearly have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, so please don’t pretend that your opinion is worth crap. It’s people like YOU who demonize mental illness and make it taboo. Please explain how a BRAIN CHEMICAL IMBALANCE is ANYONE’S fault! Please also explain how the tabloids are angels for publicizing what is already the most horrible and traumatizing period of this young woman’s life. And when you’re done with all of that explaining, please go away; nobody wants to hear your stupid comments about things you’re so ignorant about.
Goddess711 can join you.
Kthxbye.
Christie’s last ex, Peter Cook, is a real tool. I just saw him on Inside Edition blaming Christie on Alexa trying to kill herself. He sounded like a horrible little whiner.
Princess Pea, you know what they say about assuming things. So, please find anything in my post that indicates that I am a denier of mental illness. Get over yourself and save your outrage for something worthy. There is no indication anywhere that Alexa Joel suffered from mental illness and every indication that she attempted to kill herself because of either a break up or fight with her boyfriend. So excuse me if I believe that is a silly reason to end your life and cause your family and friends endless suffering. You must be a person who has never been affected by a suicide and doesn’t know the damage it causes and the wounds that never heal. But if you feel better calling me insensitive then good for you. And as to your last comment, you don’t know anything about me and you don’t need to insult me or question my motives when it comes to my comment about a celebrity that neither one of us knows.
Good for them…standing up to the media. That’s an aweful thing to exploit a dire situation.
“There is no indication anywhere that Alexa Joel suffered from mental illness”
yeah, because that’s the kind of thing that she’d publicize.
and something that apparently YOU know because you know her personally, right?
you may not be implying that there is no such thing as mental illness, but you are clearly claiming that Alexa did not suffer from it.
a break up alone will rarely cause someone to turn to suicide unless there is already an emotional problem. for you to assume that the break up was the ONLY source of her attempt is ridiculous. something like that would be the impetus, not the sole reason.
I’ll throw in my two cents though I don’t find this interesting anymore.
I think, in my opinion, she is on drugs and couldn’t handle it. Period. no mental illness speculation or any other unfounded presumptions for me. Girl from privileged life tried to kill herself. She lives. Until she decides to speak on it for herself, its not really interesting anymore. Praise St Angle & Princess Pea, y’all dont know much more than me or Hmm. Unless you’re privy to something we aren’t.
IMO uneducated opinion, anyone that tries to commit
suicide DOES have a mental illness. Mentally fit/sound people do not try to kill themselves.
if you attempt to kill yourself, you have a mental illness. confirmed. end of story.
leave her alone. shes getting help.
Cheers for that Firestarter and Sonny – too right.
My 2 cents worth: Wealth and a high profile life doesn’t solve everything…in fact I think it would complicate almost every aspect of your life expotentially. Its been a doozie of a year for the Joel/Brinkley clans its not a surprise that a breakup might affect Alexa really badly.
Compassion is good people…there but for the grace of God go a lot of us…
Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean-favoured and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good Morning!” and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich, yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine — we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked and waited for the light,
And went without the meat and cursed the bread,
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet in his head.
Praise..I don’t know her and neither do you. And we are doing what we do about every topic on this board..we are expressing an opinion based on limited facts.
factual inaccuracies wtf? isn’t that an oxymoron –like jumble shrimp???
as for the POST i line my birds cage w/that paper.
To Sonny: “…if you attempt to kill yourself, you have a mental illness. confirmed. end of story,”
Two words: Emotional disturbance. It’s not the same thing as mental illness.
Just my 2 cents. Supported by psychiatric medicine.
I hope she heals, that’s all. It’s always easy for other people to weigh in on someone else’s nightmare and tell them it’s only a sock under the bed.
hmmm-I hope your friends and people close to you have someone else they can call if they’re ever in a bad way.
Frightened to think of what might happen if you thought their pain was silly.
Still saying she prolly OD’d by accident or did she?……
to hatsumoto…
I don’t know more than anyone here. However, I made no assumptions on her situation or why she attempted to kill herself. I simply pointed out to hmm that he/she shouldn’t make assumptions about Alexa’s mental state based on what “indications” were apparent. I also stated a simple fact about suicide attempts.
We all look at the world with the circumstances of our lives at the forefront. I will assume for a moment that most of us reading CB live a middle-class life. We take a lot in our lives for granted – our income allows us to live in a manner that we don’t really second guess putting food on our table. So, within that context, we worry about love and our place in the world.
So, change places with Alexa Ray and become a child a privilege. You still live within that context which you just take for granted, and you still have the same worry about love and your place in the world.
hmmm – I’m sure there are lots of people here in our country who wish they had the time to comment about Alexa Ray. Give us a break — yes, life is hard for many of us. But none of us have a pass on heartbreak, struggle or difficulty.
That’s sweet of them to do this together. Lohan parents: take note. SUPPORT your children. They will thrive.
@Mollination—
“They will thrive.”
You meant that sarcastically, right???
The Lohans, Joel, and Brinkley are textbook examples of the emotional devastation kids suffer when their parents are focussed on their own needs rather than their children’s needs.
@ hmm – Thanks for assuming that I have no personal experience with suicide, or depression, or mental illness. You’re wrong, but it was a good try. Mine was good too; your implication that she was only upset over a break up and wasn’t suffering from some serious personal turmoil did make me think that you are a person like so many I’ve known, who think that depression is weakness or is whining and can’t find sympathy within themselves for someone they THINK has it good. You’re right jumping to conclusions is what we’re all doing on these boards, and that’s why I think we should try to be a little more forgiving here. I get that many people don’t have the access to resources like Alexa does, but that doesn’t make her immune from pain. If you haven’t been through clinical depression, or never had to help someone else through it, or never accompanied a suicide attempt to the hospital, or cried through their funeral. because you would have done anything to help if only you knew they needed it.. then you might not understand it the way that other people do. You seem like you do understand, except for your assumption that Alexa was only upset over “either a break up or fight with her boyfriend.” Suicide is horrible, and as you say the “damage it causes and the wounds that never heal” are terrible to all sorts of people surrounding the one who makes the choice.
The funny thing is, it seems like we should be agreeing. I couldn’t agree more that the reason you suggested would be a silly reason to end one’s life and cause suffering to those they love. Frankly, I don’t think there is a good reason at all, they are ALL silly. That’s part of the illness. I also think, however, that it’s really truly unkind to reject the evidence (attempted suicide) and deny that there was an emotional problem here, and to then state your thoughts on the subject as if they were truths. I don’t know Alexa, that’s why my first comment said what it did. You don’t know her either, and yours looks really different from mine. Think about it a little.
She didn’t “decide to kill herself.” Give your heads a shake – she’s got enough access to REAL meds if she wanted to do that. She “OD’d” on Traumeel for f**ks sakes. Not pain meds or, if she were really screwed up, anti-depressants. This was a way to get the spotlight. She may have really screwed up by giving that ex-douchebag of Christy’s more ammo to come out with. This is a YOUNG ADULT; this was not a suicide attempt. She’s definitely smart enough and together enough to do it right if she really wanted. Traumeel? Puhllleeessseee. Bleeding hearts bleed elsewhere. There are real kids out there dealing with bigger issues than getting dumped by a shitty boyfriend and they keep on going, they don’t load up on an herbal remedy and try to claim it’s a suicide attempt. Spare us the whiny b.s.!
It’s incredible the way people need to spill their own mental disturbance issues and wear it like it’s a badge. It’s a freakin’ gossip site – you MUST have a therapist somewhere who gets paid to listen to your shit, please save it for them!
“Two words: Emotional disturbance. It’s not the same thing as mental illness.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I guess that’s like Climate Change and Global Warming, huh? WTF difference does it make people??? Someone tried to KILL THEMSELVES and you idiots are arguing about what to call it??? sheeeit….
“This was a way to get the spotlight.”
which is what a LOT of suicide attempts are. which doesn’t mean that they should be ignored or treated any less seriously than what you would consider a “genuine” attempt.
any attempt is a cry for help and should be treated as such.
I’m not trying to make light of the situation, believe me I can relate, but it doesn’t sound like a real attempt as much as a cry for help. Some sources say she took only an herb or OTC med. Even it she did take a prescription sleeping pill, eight would not be enough to cause any real damage least of all death. Either way, I hope she gets better. 🙂
(As I was scrolling down I saw that someone posted “Richard Cory.” Remember reading that it 8th grade, always liked it).
ALEXA NEEDS TO GET A NOSE JOB. SERIOUSLY, I THINK IT WOULD MAKE HER FEEL A LOT BETTER.
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