Billy Joel is attempting to put out the fire started by his alleged presidential cigarette.
After a report emerged from a source for The Hill newspaper that Joel on a trip to Washington, D.C., claimed that he recently smoked a cigarette with President Obama, the musician is now denying the story.
“The Obama part of the story is completely untrue,” explained Joel in a statement late Tuesday to the New York Daily News. “Nothing like that ever happened. I think their ‘spy’ had a few too many cocktails at that bar.”
While The Hill wrote that the source had a conversation with Joel at the Jefferson Hotel last week, the Daily News reported that he or she was merely “eavesdropping” on Joel when he was speaking to someone else.
The source originally claimed that Joel admitted that Obama — who has said he quit smoking — offered him a cigarette on a recent White House trip.
“He said, ‘I’m going out on the North Portico to have a smoke. Do you want to come with me?'” the source quoted Joel.
The musician reportedly accepted the request after some hesitance.
Should The Hill’s original story about Joel prove true, it would discount Obama’s multiple insistences that he has kicked the nicotine habit.
President Obama lying to the American people? Imagine that.
