Billy Joel’s rep denies death speculation after reported Google error

A week after Billy Joel revealed he had undergone brain surgery, his publicist addressed an error that reportedly led Google users to believe the singer had died.

A representative for the 77-year-old confirmed in an email to USA TODAY on Thursday, Sept. 17, that the musician is still alive.

Earlier in the day, several social media users expressed confusion about whether the "Piano Man" singer was alive. At least one screenshot shared online appeared to show a Google search result listing Sept. 17 as Joel's date of death. Separately, one X user alleged the same date appeared on Joel's Wikipedia page.

In a statement to USA TODAY, a Google spokesperson said the incorrect information had been removed and was not the result of a manual change by the company.

"This is no longer appearing, and was not a manual change by Google. When people vandalize public info sources, this can affect the information that appears in Search," the spokesperson said.

USA TODAY reached out to Wikipedia for comment.

The confusion comes after Joel discussed his health on SiriusXM’s The Billy Joel Channel on Sept. 9 and sought to reassure fans. "I just want people to know, don't worry about me,"…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/entertainment/