We didn’t start the fire—you can blame that on the Neo-Nazis and white supremacists who showed up, tiki-torches ablaze, in Charlottesville, Virginia. And after video emerged of the protestors shouting racial and anti-Semitic epithets, some said enough is enough.
One of those people is Billy Joel, who grew up Jewish in Long Island and whose parents escaped the Holocaust, donned a yellow Star of David on his jacket’s front lapel and back during the encore of one of his string of performances at Madison Square Garden Monday night. (A practice dating back as early as the 13th century and which was revived by the Nazis in 1938, European Jews were forced to wear badges identifying them as such during the Holocaust.)
Joel’s ex-wife, Christie Brinkley, shared a picture of the rock legend on her Instagram page, writing the following message:
“And on the day of the Solar Eclipse a yellow star appeared on the jacket of another kind of star with a clinched [sic] fist that seemed to be gripping painful, no excruciating, memories of loved ones who wore that star to their death. May that star also remind you today of the gold stars pinned to the jackets of soldiers for their bravery and valor for fighting an evil so hideous even the gold stars in the sky were afraid to shine. Thank you Billy for reminding people what was …so it may never ever be again.”
Brinkley and Joel’s daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, also chimed in on her page, too, sharing an alternate picture of her father and leaving the message: “Now, THIS Is How You Do It. THAT’S MY POP!!! Proud Jewish New Yorker Through & Through!!!!! REPRESENT! STAND STRONG!”
Furthermore, Katie Lee, another one of Joel’s ex-wives, shared a picture and her support on Instagram:
“Truly in awe of my former husband … wearing the yellow Star of David at his concert at MSG last night. He is an incredible man and what a way to take a stand. He continues to inspire me and I hope he does to each and every one of you.”
Though maybe not as demonstrative an activist as, say, John Lennon or David Crosby, Joel has written a number of protest songs throughout the years (see: “Goodnight Saigon” or “Leningrad“).
Joel also performed “Goodbye to You,” a duet with Patty Smyth, while “faces of past White House staff were shown behind us,” noted Smyth on her Instagram. He was no longer wearing the Star of David during the song.
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