Ricky Martin Is ‘Safe’ After Tear Gas Spraying Interrupts Concert Ingrid VasquezFri, May 22, 2026 at 4:09 AM UTC 0 Ricky Martin performs during a concert at Estadio Fray Nano on March 14, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico.Credit: Medios y Media/Getty Ricky Martin resumed his concert in Montenegro after tear gas caused an abrupt interruption during the show Authorities confirmed the situation was under control before fans and Martin returned to continue the performance Martin and his team are safe and expressed gratitude for the support and concern from fans following the incident Ricky Martin is "sa...

Ricky Martin Is ‘Safe’ After Tear Gas Spraying Interrupts Concert

Ingrid VasquezFri, May 22, 2026 at 4:09 AM UTC

Ricky Martin performs during a concert at Estadio Fray Nano on March 14, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico.
Credit: Medios y Media/Getty -

Ricky Martin resumed his concert in Montenegro after tear gas caused an abrupt interruption during the show

Authorities confirmed the situation was under control before fans and Martin returned to continue the performance

Martin and his team are safe and expressed gratitude for the support and concern from fans following the incident

Ricky Martin is "safe" after a fan disrupted his show in Europe on Thursday, May 21.

Martin’s publicist, Róndine Alcalá, shared in a statement in Spanish and English that the singer was kicking off the European leg of his Ricky Martin Live tour in Montenegro when "an individual discharged tear gas toward the stage."

Alcalá said this caused an "abrupt interruption of the show as audience members moved away from the area and received assistance."

Ricky Martin statement about incident at concert from Róndine Alcalá
Credit: Róndine Alcalá/Instagram

According to the publist, Martin, 54, and his team immediately exited the stage as a "precautionary measure" while "security personnel and local authorities worked to contain the situation and ensure the safety of those in attendance."

While members of Martin's team advised against continuing the performance, Alcalá said that the Puerto Rican superstar decided to resume the concert "in order to fulfill his commitment to fans."

By that point, authorities had confirmed that "the situation was under control and that attendees could safely return," according to Alcalá.

The representative also confirmed that the Ricky Martin Live tour will continue as scheduled with upcoming performances across Europe and additional international dates.

"Ricky Martin and his team are safe and grateful for the support and concern received following tonight’s events in Montenegro," Alcalá wrote.

Ricky Martin performs at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards
Credit: Mary Kouw/CBS via Getty

Concertgoers shared their experiences in the comment section.

"We were there. Thanks Ricky and his team for everything, they are all professionals 👏👏👏 we very enjoyed the concert ❤️," one fan wrote.

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"Such sad news 😔 and many thanks to @ricky_martin and their team for continuing the show despite everything. Thank you @rondenepr for the information 🙏🏼," another person commented.

on People

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Ricky Martin Is ‘Safe’ After Tear Gas Spraying Interrupts Concert

Ricky Martin Is ‘Safe’ After Tear Gas Spraying Interrupts Concert Ingrid VasquezFri, May 22, 2026 at 4:09 AM UTC 0 Ricky Martin ...

New Photo - Kyle Busch, legendary NASCAR champion, dies at 41 after sudden illness

The revered racing pro's &34;sudden and tragic passing&34; was mourned by his family and NASCAR, calling him a &34;rare talent&34; who &34;comes along once in a generation.&34; Kyle Busch, legendary NASCAR champion, dies at 41 after sudden illness The revered racing pro's &34;sudden and tragic passing&34; was mourned by his family and NASCAR, calling him a &34;rare talent&34; who &34;comes along once in a generation.&34; By Ryan Coleman :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/RyanColemanauthorphoto0081ce8f0254478080f35972c433877b.

The revered racing pro's "sudden and tragic passing" was mourned by his family and NASCAR, calling him a "rare talent" who "comes along once in a generation."

Kyle Busch, legendary NASCAR champion, dies at 41 after sudden illness

The revered racing pro's "sudden and tragic passing" was mourned by his family and NASCAR, calling him a "rare talent" who "comes along once in a generation."

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman author photo

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

EW's editorial guidelines

on May 21, 2026 7:52 p.m. ET

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Kyle Busch, legendary NASCAR champion, dies at 41 after sudden illness

The revered racing pro's &34; sudden and tragic passing&34; was mourned by his family and NASCAR , calling him a &34;ra...

Joseph Duggar Has Not Communicated With Kids in 2 Months, Can&x27;t Visit His Properties Due To Proximity to Accuser: Court Docs Chris SpargoThu, May 21, 2026 at 10:01 PM UTC 0 Joseph DuggarCredit: Washington County Sheriff's Department Joseph Duggar has filed two motions seeking modifications to the no contact order issued by the judge who granted his pretrial release One of those motions states that Joseph has "been unable to communicate with his own biological children" since he made his initial court appearance in Florida on March 31 Joseph revealed in jail phone calls obtained by PEOPLE t...

Joseph Duggar Has Not Communicated With Kids in 2 Months, Can't Visit His Properties Due To Proximity to Accuser: Court Docs

Chris SpargoThu, May 21, 2026 at 10:01 PM UTC

Joseph Duggar
Credit: Washington County Sheriff's Department -

Joseph Duggar has filed two motions seeking modifications to the no contact order issued by the judge who granted his pretrial release

One of those motions states that Joseph has "been unable to communicate with his own biological children" since he made his initial court appearance in Florida on March 31

Joseph revealed in jail phone calls obtained by PEOPLE that he had also been unable to contact his children in the weeks before that following his arrest in Arkansas on March 18

Joseph Duggar is seeking a second modification to the no contact order issued by a Florida judge as part of the conditions of his pretrial release.

A motion filed by his attorney Albert J Sauline III and obtained by PEOPLE seeks to amend a provision of the order than bans Joseph from visiting a number of land parcels that he owns due to their proximity to the home where his alleged victim resides with her family.

Joseph is seeking this modification because the alleged victim and her family "have abandoned their residence, no longer residing at the previously listed address," according to the motion.

This comes on the heels of a motion filed by Joseph earlier this week that revealed he has not been able to communicate with his four children for almost two months.

Joseph and Kendra Duggar
Credit: Joseph and Kendra Duggar/Instagram

The no contact order prohibits Joseph from visiting six of his properties, the motion states, rendering him unable to perform tasks including: mowing, landscaping, painting, repairs and removing an "old dilapidated shed and its contents."

This is now the second motion filed this week that seeks to change the conditions of Joseph's no contact order, and Sauline tells PEOPLE that both are set to be argued in court on June 20.

Related: Joseph Duggar Skips Court but Fights No Contact Order That Prohibits Him from Spending Time Alone with His Kids

The first motion sought to modify the provision which bans Joseph from having any unsupervised contact with children under 18, asking for an exemption to be made for his own children.

The motion states that Joseph has "been unable to communicate with his own biological children" since he made his initial court appearance in Florida on March 31.

He had been unable to communicate with the children prior to that, too, when he and his wife Kendra Duggar were arrested on unrelated charges in Arkansas.

Kendra was able to reunite with the children in mid-April but the current order "is creating a hardship for the family unit," the motion says.

Joseph is facing two charges of lewd and lascivious behavior in Florida and is out of jail on a $600,000 bond. He and Kendra are also charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of a minor in the second degree and four counts of false imprisonment in the second degree in Arkansas.

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Lukashenko says Belarus will not be dragged into Ukraine war, but will defend itself with Russia ReutersThu, May 21, 2026 at 8:19 PM UTC 0 Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko visits a missile brigade of the Armed Forces during joint RussianBelarusian nuclear exercises, in the Asipovichy district, Mogilev region, Belarus, May 21, 2026. President of the Republic of Belarus/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT.

Lukashenko says Belarus will not be dragged into Ukraine war, but will defend itself with Russia

ReutersThu, May 21, 2026 at 8:19 PM UTC

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko visits a missile brigade of the Armed Forces during joint Russian-Belarusian nuclear exercises, in the Asipovichy district, Mogilev region, Belarus, May 21, 2026. President of the Republic of Belarus/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT.

MOSCOW, May 21 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday dismissed any notion that Belarus would be dragged into the Ukraine war, but said Russia and Belarus would ‌jointly defend themselves in case of aggression, Belarusian state news agency BELTA reported.

Lukashenko was also ‌quoted by BELTA as saying that he was ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has repeatedly suggested that Belarus could become further involved in the more than four-year-old conflict.

Lukashenko made his remarks during joint nuclear exercises with Russia which he and Russian President Vladimir Putin observed via a video conference.

"As for (Zelenskiy's) statements that Belarus will be drawn into the war, as I have just said, this will occur in only one ‌instance - if aggression is committed on ⁠our territory," BELTA quoted Lukashenko as saying.

"We will together defend our Fatherland...where our two countries stand," he added.

He said that if Zelenskiy wanted to "talk about something, ⁠have a discussion or perhaps something else, by all means, we are open to this. Any location -- Ukraine, Belarus - I am ready to meet him and discuss problems in our relations."

Belarus allowed Russia to use its territory for Moscow's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Zelenskiy has for weeks warned of unusual ‌activity and a possible cross-border incursion.

Zelenskiy was discussing strengthening defences on Thursday with officials in northern Ukraine near the Belarusian border.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said Russia was "eager to draw Belarus deeper into this war" and pledged that Ukraine had "the capability to strengthen our defences...and to work preventively."

Lukashenko and Belarus have long been subject to Western sanctions over allegations of human rights abuses and for helping ‌Russia stage its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

But the United States has held several rounds of talks with Belarus that have led to the release of hundreds of detainees deemed political prisoners in Western countries in return for the ‌easing of some sanctions. U.S. envoy John Coale has said Lukashenko might soon visit the United States.

In his comments, Lukashenko said European leaders unhappy at the prospect of improved relations between Washington and Minsk could have prompted Zelenskiy to make his latest allegations.

"They see that we are having ‌a specific dialogue with the Americans," BELTA quoted him as saying. "And not everyone likes that. And that's why they are nudging Zelenskiy."

(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Felix Light; editing by Vladimir Soldatkin, Ron Popeski and Alistair Bell)

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Lukashenko says Belarus will not be dragged into Ukraine war, but will defend itself with Russia

Lukashenko says Belarus will not be dragged into Ukraine war, but will defend itself with Russia ReutersThu, May 21, 2026 at...

New Photo - Monét X Change and Eureka admit there were almost more Drag Race season 10 finale reveals

Monét X Change, Eureka tell EW's BINGE podcast about sponges, secret, unaired reveals, and how to keep your wig intact while skydiving. Monét X Change and Eureka admit there were almost more Drag Race season 10 finale reveals Monét X Change, Eureka tell EW's BINGE podcast about sponges, secret, unaired reveals, and how to keep your wig intact while skydiving. :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/JoeyNolfiBiophotof93a23298bdd47ba9c13f53815fc469b.jpg) Joey Nolfi Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at . Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul's Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

Monét X Change, Eureka tell EW's BINGE podcast about sponges, secret, unaired reveals, and how to keep your wig intact while skydiving.

Monét X Change and Eureka admit there were almost more Drag Race season 10 finale reveals

Monét X Change, Eureka tell EW's BINGE podcast about sponges, secret, unaired reveals, and how to keep your wig intact while skydiving.

'' journalist Joey Nolfi on 'RuPaul's Drag Race'

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul's Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

EW's editorial guidelines

September 3, 2020 3:54 p.m. ET

Asia O'Hara's infamous butterfly dreams weren't the only things dashed on the *RuPaul's Drag Race* season 10 finale. Miss Congeniality Monét X Change and runner-up Eureka join *EW's BINGE* podcast to recall there were almost more (potentially disastrous!) reveals primed to take the stage on the final episode.

The ladies stopped by the latest installment of *EW's BINGE* podcast to tell hosts Joey Nolfi and Jillian Sederholm about the planned-but-never-unveiled reveals that nearly hit the grand finale spotlight, including one that might've literally smoked the audience right out of the building.

"I had neon smoke bombs that were supposed to go off," Eureka recalls. "The whole idea behind it was smoke and mirrors, that's why the bottom layer [of my look] was this mirrored leotard.... there were three spots: one in the center and one on each hip where the smoke bombs go in, and I'd just pull the tabs and they go off as I'm dancing. But when I practiced one, there was so much smoke I was like, bitch, I will fill up that whole auditorium and get disqualified!"

O'Hara's jaw-dropping attempt at releasing live butterflies from pods hidden inside her breasts virtually disqualified her from the competition, as the planned spectacle led to her untimely elimination after the creatures didn't take flight as she'd hoped, but instead fell to the floor.

"The cutest thing was how emotional it made Aquaria, randomly. It was so sweet. Me and Aquaria were backstage and when it happened, luckily there was a chair there, but Aquaria collapsed into a chair with shock," Eureka remembers. "It was weird because me and Aquaria were very shook, and we had to go out right after. We were shaking and freaked out."

In a separate interview, X Change muses on the over-reliance on reveals, which was apparent to everyone watching the final four contestants — O'Hara, Aquaria, Eureka, and Kameron Michaels — step out onto the stage in their lip-sync attire.

"Ever since the Sasha Velour countdown to the crown situation, everyone feels the need to do this crazy thing. What people are missing is that when Sasha Velour did it, it made sense with the story. It furthered the narrative of what she was trying to tell," X Change, a friend and supporter of O'Hara's, says, while keeping it real when assessing her sister's approach. "For Asia to pull out butterflies for Janet Jackson's 'Nasty,' it made no sense! If you did something with blood or gore, that makes sense, but there was no reason...."

"There's a shot of all four of them right before they know who's lip-syncing against who, and Asia's in these huge square t-ts, Kameron is in a typical every bar queen reveal getup, Eureka looks like [they're] hiding whatever under [their] purple thing, and Aquaria's in a half-eaten Chipotle burrito.... it was so obvious. So in that regard, we all knew something was coming!" she added.

Elsewhere on the episode, X Change discusses the inspiration for her iconic sponge dress, explains the origins of the British tongue, what happened backstage during the tense moments The Vixen stormed off the set during the reunion, and sky-diving off a building in a pussycat wig, while a separate conversation with O'Hara covers her clash with The Vixen, a shocking moment with Miz Cracker during the inner saboteur challenge, and what we can expect from season 2 of her HBO series *We're Here*.

*EW's BINGE* podcast on *RuPaul's Drag Race* — available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite shows — returns next Thursday with Yvie Oddly and Nina West for a season 11 recap on the case of the missing wigs, hot dads, the most epic lip-sync in *Drag Race* herstory, and a hilarious unaired moment where the sweetest Miss Congeniality winner snapped. Check out our ongoing collection of *Snatch Game Fantasy* podcast segments as well to hear eliminated queens perform characters they never got the chance to play on their original season.

***Sign up for **********'s free daily newsletter****** to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.***

**Related content: **

- Sasha Velour, Peppermint kiki on Lady Gaga's unaired *Drag Race* season 9 moments

- Bob the Drag Queen, Naomi Smalls say even more kimonos nearly plagued *Drag Race* season 8 Kimonogate

- Katya describes holding an amputated foot on EW's *Drag Race* season 7 podcast

- RuPaul's Drag Race Fandom

Original Article on Source

Source: "EW RuPaul"

Source: RuPaul

Published: May 21, 2026 at 03:19PM on Source: PRIME TIME

#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle

byPrime Sky

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Monét X Change and Eureka admit there were almost more Drag Race season 10 finale reveals

Monét X Change , Eureka tell EW's BINGE podcast about sponges, secret, unaired reveals , and how to keep your wig intact while sky...

New Photo - Sasha Velour, Peppermint kiki on Lady Gaga's unaired Drag Race season 9 moments

The queens stop by EW's BINGE podcast to discuss Lady Gaga's sweet backstage moment, Valentina's mask, and that time Pep was Home Alone'd. Sasha Velour, Peppermint kiki on Lady Gaga's unaired Drag Race season 9 moments The queens stop by EW's BINGE podcast to discuss Lady Gaga's sweet backstage moment, Valentina's mask, and that time Pep was Home Alone'd. :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/JoeyNolfiBiophotof93a23298bdd47ba9c13f53815fc469b.jpg) Joey Nolfi Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at . Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul's Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

The queens stop by EW's BINGE podcast to discuss Lady Gaga's sweet backstage moment, Valentina's mask, and that time Pep was Home Alone'd.

Sasha Velour, Peppermint kiki on Lady Gaga's unaired Drag Race season 9 moments

The queens stop by EW's BINGE podcast to discuss Lady Gaga's sweet backstage moment, Valentina's mask, and that time Pep was Home Alone'd.

'' journalist Joey Nolfi on 'RuPaul's Drag Race'

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul's Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

EW's editorial guidelines

August 27, 2020 6:23 p.m. ET

For its big break after moving season 9's premiere from queer-focused network Logo to VH1 back in 2017, *RuPaul's Drag Race* supersized its guest-judging roster by welcoming Lady Gaga into the Werk Room to help facilitate the transition. Now, three years later, gal pals Sasha Velour and Peppermint have reunited on* EW's BINGE* podcast for a sweet recollection of their time spent backstage soaking up Mother Monster's excellence.

"Lady Gaga seemed to do something unusual and make it a point to come back and connect with us. It seemed as though she was genuinely touched that we had put so much into these tribute looks to her," Peppermint tells hosts Joey Nolfi and Jillian Sederholm, referencing the season 9 opener's debut challenge, which asked the 13 competing queens to recreate famous looks from Gaga's career. "When she came back into the [Werk] Room, she *really* came back with some constructive feedback and criticism, but that was preceded by a nice, pretty good conversation. A very honest conversation about what it's like to be a queen and how she identifies with us and how closely she feels connected to us, and that was something I didn't expect.... now it's like, oh, every single episode when a star comes, here's their walk back, but that was the first time I remember that happened."

Velour adds that Gaga "insisted on it, because there was even a moment when the producers were kind of like, trying to get her to wrap it up, because she had hand-written notes about each and every one of us, and she went through, took her time, and gave individual feedback to each of us sitting right there. They were like, 'Ok, we've got to get back to filming!' And she was like, 'No, I'm going to finish this!'"

Lady Gaga on Ru Paul's Drag Race

While Gaga clocked the queens' true colors backstage, *EW's BINGE* podcast playfully clocked Velour on a recycled season 9 fashion: A black leather corset the eventual season winner used to create Gaga's look from the "Applause" music video, and later repurposed for the Madonna-themed runway later in the season: "Listen, that was a $70 corset from Orchard Street Corsets, my favorite Orthodox Jewish corset shop in New York City," Velour says with a laugh (Pep, a fellow New York queen, hilariously butts in: "They know all the girls!"). "They don't always carry everything in every size, so that was the black corset they had when I was shopping.... it worked for both of those. And, up until this moment, no one has ever called me out on it before!"

While Velour and Peppermint also reflect on some of season 9's more serious issues — like Peppermint breaking barriers for transgender representation on a mainstream platform, secrets about their epic finale lip-syncs, and rallying around Nina Bo'Nina Brown after Valentina's infamous elimination — the pair fondly looks back on a hilarious instance when Peppermint was accidentally left behind at the hotel where the queens stay during production.

"You're in there until someone comes and gets you," Peppermint says, chucking as she recalls the story. "Long story short, [they] never came back and got me.... I crept out of my room, went down the hall.... I went to each queen's room and knocked and no one else was there. I went back to my room and waited. This was a couple of hours.... they ended up coming back and getting me!"

She holds no hard feelings against the show for the genuine mix-up, and speculates that it came down to simple math: "This was episode 2 or 3, and Cynthia Lee Fontaine had just [returned to the competition], and I think at that point [the drivers] counted us like kids in a van with a headcount. There were 13 people on episode 1, and there were 14 on episode 2 when Cynthia came back, so then the person who was there the first day who drove us with 13 counted 13 again [after the episode 1 elimination] and just drove off, not realizing now there's an added person. So I got left behind!"

"This is literally the plot of *Home Alone*!" Velour says. "It's like *Drag Race Home Alone*," Peppermint laughs.

*EW's BINGE* podcast on *RuPaul's Drag Race* — available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite shows — returns next Thursday with Monét X Change and Eureka for a backwards sashay into a season 10 recap on knee injuries, sponge dresses, and the important conversation on race in the fandom started by The Vixen. Check out our ongoing collection of *Snatch Game Fantasy* podcast segments as well to hear eliminated queens perform characters they never got the chance to play on their original season.

***Sign up for **********'s free daily newsletter****** to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.***

**Related content: **

- Bob the Drag Queen, Naomi Smalls say even more kimonos nearly plagued *Drag Race* season 8 Kimonogate

- Katya describes holding an amputated foot on EW's *Drag Race* season 7 podcast

- Adore Delano recalls telling *Drag Race* season 6 crew to keep Bianca Del Rio away from her on EW's season 6 podcast recap

- RuPaul's Drag Race Fandom

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Published: May 21, 2026 at 03:20PM on Source: PRIME TIME

#ShowBiz#Sports#Celebrities#Lifestyle

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Sasha Velour, Peppermint kiki on Lady Gaga's unaired Drag Race season 9 moments

The queens stop by EW's BINGE podcast to discuss Lady Gaga's sweet backstage moment, Valentina's mask, and that time Pep w...

New Photo - Billy Joel slams unauthorized biopic immediately after it's announced

Through his rep, the songwriter says &34;Billy & Me&34; will not be able to &34;secure the music rights required for this project.” Billy Joel slams unauthorized biopic immediately after it's announced Through his rep, the songwriter says &34;Billy & Me&34; will not be able to &34;secure the music rights required for this project.” By Kathleen Perricone May 19, 2026 10:15 p.m. ET :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/BillyJoelTokyoDome2024051926c91ac5892452415c9e2287a8bb00fa72.jpg) Billy Joel performing at the Tokyo Dome in 2024.

Through his rep, the songwriter says "Billy & Me" will not be able to "secure the music rights required for this project.”

Billy Joel slams unauthorized biopic immediately after it's announced

Through his rep, the songwriter says "Billy & Me" will not be able to "secure the music rights required for this project.”

By Kathleen Perricone

May 19, 2026 10:15 p.m. ET

Billy Joel performs at Tokyo Dome on January 24, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.

Billy Joel performing at the Tokyo Dome in 2024. Credit:

Taylor Hill/Getty

- Billy Joel is slamming a newly-announced biopic, *Billy & Me*, the same day it was officially announced.

- The film traces the origins of the singer's career and will be told from the perspective of Irwin Mazur, his first manager.

- “Billy Joel has not authorized or supported this project in any capacity,” his rep said in a statement.

For Billy Joel, it's always been a matter of trust.

The singer-songwriter has come out fighting against an unauthorized biopic, *Billy & Me*, told from the perspective of "Me": Irwin Mazur, Joel's first manager who discovered the struggling musician in 1966.

The film, written by Adam Ripp, will trace the origins of Joel's career before his 1973 breakthrough album, *Piano Man*.

Billy Joel circa 1970.

Richard E. Aaron/Redferns

"Since 2021, the parties involved have been officially notified that they do not possess Billy Joel's life rights and will not be able to secure the music rights required for this project," his rep told *Variety* in a statement. "Billy Joel has not authorized or supported this project in any capacity, and any attempt to move forward without it would be both legally and professionally misguided."

*Billy & Me*, which has been kicking around since at least 2022, will be directed by John Ottman, whose most recent project was as lead editor on *Michael*.

Billy Joel's daughter Alexa Ray gives health update amid singer's brain disorder

Billy Joel and daughter Alexa Ray Joel

Billy Joel surprises fans with first performance since brain disorder diagnosis

Billy Joel performs at Allegiant Stadium on November 09, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Another person from Joel’s past is also involved in the biopic: Jon Small, the drummer in his pre-fame band, Hassles, and side project Attila.

The best friends had a falling out when Joel had an affair with Small's wife Elizabeth, who the singer married in 1973. Following their 1982 divorce, Joel healed his fractured friendship with Small, who went on to become a director and worked on several of his music videos, including "Uptown Girl" and "Tell Her About It."

Small, who will serve as a consultant, co-executive producer, and second unit director for *Billy & Me*, defended the project.

Billy Joel and Jon Small of the rock band "Attila" pose for a portrait in 1970.

Billy Joel and Jon Small in 1970.

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

"This is the most honest, heartfelt, and authentic portrayal of Billy's early life and rise to becoming one of the greatest musical voices of our time," Small told *Variety*.

"*Billy & Me* is grounded in truth, shaped with care, and built with the insight of people who genuinely know and love Billy," he continued. "As someone who was there from the very beginning, I can say this script captures not just the music, but the friendships, struggles, humor, and creative spark that defined those years."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Casting for *Billy & Me* is currently underway, with production to begin in the fall in Winnipeg and Joel’s native New York.

- Biopic Movies

- Musical Biopic

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Published: May 21, 2026 at 06:39AM on Source: PRIME TIME

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Billy Joel slams unauthorized biopic immediately after it's announced

Through his rep, the songwriter says &34; Billy & Me&34; will not be able to &34;secure the music rights required for t...

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Ricky Martin Is ‘Safe’ After Tear Gas Spraying Interrupts Concert

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Kyle Busch, legendary NASCAR champion, dies at 41 after sudden illness

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