Billy Joel says he no longer cares what ‘woke’ left thinks of him

Appearing on the latest episode of Maher’s Club Random podcast, Joel and Maher delved into the modern culture of outrage, particularly from progressive circles who bristle at dissenting opinions. The conversation centered around Joel’s 1976 song Angry Young Man, a track Maher said feels more relevant than ever in today’s polarized climate.

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Reciting the lyrics together: "I believe I've passed the age, of consciousness and righteous rage, I found that just surviving was a noble fight." Maher remarked, “I feel like that is the message of the age, even though some people will hear that and say, ‘Look at these two a**holes!’”

“Boomers,” Joel replied, mocking the generational insult often hurled at older generations on social media.

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Maher then steered the conversation toward Joel’s famed anti-war ballad Goodnight Saigon, quoting the lyrics, “And who was wrong? And who was right? It didn’t matter in the thick of the fight.” He asked Joel if he still stands by those words.

“Yes,” Joel replied unequivocally.

Maher followed up, asking if the musician still cares about criticism from the “woke” crowd.

“At this point, no,” Joel said. However, he emphasized that while he doesn’t let the criticism bother him, he still values trying to understand differing perspectives. “On the other hand, I'm always trying to find out the other point of view… I’d like to understand why they think that way.”

Maher agreed, lamenting how difficult it’s become to have civil discourse. “It is what I am always trying to do on my show. It is, look, this is one safe space for everybody, and I will take the heat from either, both sides. I mean, I do feel like the left, who ironically I'm more actually aligned with, is more snippy about it, and has a worse attitude about it, and makes me viscerally not like them more sometimes.”

The two men also criticized the toxic nature of social media, where people express venom they’d never say in person. “It just always surprises me how people, they express this hatred,” Joel said. “It’s like, you hate a musician because he wrote something?”