Gwyneth Paltrow's Bland Bio, Bill Maher's Disrespect for Billy Joel, and J.Lo's Inappropriate Moves

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Nerve with Maureen Callahan

Episode Title: Gwyneth Paltrow's Bland Bio, Bill Maher's Disrespect for Billy Joel, and J.Lo's Inappropriate Moves
Release Date: July 29, 2025
Host: Maureen Callahan (MK Media)

---

Introduction

In this vibrant episode of The Nerve, host Maureen Callahan delves into a mix of celebrity scandals, cultural critiques, and listener interactions. From dissecting Gwyneth Paltrow's newly released biography to scrutinizing Bill Maher's recent interview with Billy Joel, and examining Jennifer Lopez's controversial stage antics, Maureen offers her signature blend of humor, skepticism, and sharp insight. The episode also features a special guest, Bill from Brooklyn, who adds depth to discussions on recent deaths of iconic figures like Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan.

---

Gwyneth Paltrow's New Biography

Overview:
Maureen kicks off the episode by addressing the release of Gwyneth Paltrow's much-anticipated biography. She critiques the book for its superficial coverage and lack of depth, suggesting it's more of a publicity stunt than a meaningful exploration of Paltrow's life.

Key Points:

• Polarizing Figure: Paltrow is described as a polarizing celebrity with no middle ground—people either love or hate her.
• Allegations and Anecdotes:
  • Paltrow reportedly complained to a friend about explaining the difference between Beluga and Osetra caviar to Brad Pitt ([05:30]).
  • She allegedly insulted Brad Pitt by calling him "dumber than a sack of shit" to cosmetics heir Aaron Lauder ([07:10]).
  • The biography hints that Brad Pitt felt threatened by Paltrow's meteoric rise ([09:45]).

Notable Quotes:

• Maureen Callahan ([12:54]):
  "This book is such a money grab, you know, it's like... it's a book report. Gwyneth said this, then she did that, then somebody else said this. I don't want a summary. I want something I can sink my teeth into."

• Gwyneth Paltrow ([15:30]):
  "I truly love her husband's text."
  (Maureen critiques this as an excessively detailed and personal shout-out, suggesting a lack of self-awareness.)

Host's Critique:
Maureen emphasizes that the biography lacks substantial content beyond scandalous headlines and superficial anecdotes. She advises listeners to skip the book, deeming it dry and uninformative, especially criticizing the chapter on Goop as irrelevant to understanding Paltrow's persona.

---

Bill Maher's Interview with Billy Joel

Overview:
Maureen transitions to discussing the recent documentary on Billy Joel, highlighting the positive listener feedback but also delving into Bill Maher's less-than-stellar interview with the legendary musician.

Key Points:

• Documentary Insights:

  • Billy Joel's deep-seated family trauma, including his father's experiences during the Nazi regime and their impact on Joel's psyche.
  • The complexities of Joel's relationship with his father, Howard, and the lingering emotional scars ([63:27]).

• Bill Maher's Interview Critique:

  • Maher's lack of preparation and superficial questions ([22:03]).
  • Attempts to engage with Billy Joel's past without genuine understanding, such as mentioning Clive Davis inaccurately ([26:35]).
  • Maher's dismissive remarks about Joel's lyrical prowess, labeling him as a "plain spoken lyricist" while Joel counters that his lyrics are indeed sophisticated and flowery ([27:34]).

Notable Quotes:

• Bill Maher ([22:03]):
  "Hey Billy, beautiful piano. Do you play a little bit."

• Billy Joel ([24:46]):
  "I think they keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder, so it sounds a lot worse than what I'm feeling."

• Bill Maher ([26:35]):
  "He was of the opinion that lyrics were more important than the music..."
  (Followed by Maureen's critique of misogynistic undertones.)

Host's Analysis:
Maureen points out Maher's inability to delve deeper into Joel's emotional and psychological struggles, portraying the interview as shallow and unproductive. She highlights Joel's subtle cues of disengagement and frustration during the conversation, emphasizing the missed opportunity for meaningful dialogue.

---

Jennifer Lopez's Controversial Stage Moves

Overview:
Maureen discusses recent performances by Jennifer Lopez that have sparked outrage and confusion among fans and critics alike. She describes Lopez's stage antics as inappropriate and indicative of a midlife crisis.

Key Points:

• Stage Performances:
  • Lopez simulating oral sex and other provocative moves during her Italy performance ([56:05]).
  • Her skirt falling off mid-performance, leading to backstage chaos and stylist reprimands ([57:32]).

Notable Quotes:

• Bill from Brooklyn ([57:32]):
  "It's just sad. I mean, she’s... I mean, I guess could be considered a global icon, but she's up on stage like this."

• Maureen Callahan ([58:22]):
  "That half naked stuff... she doesn't care about those kids. Just my opinion, if she gave a shit, she'd think about what they're going to go through at school in September."

Host's Commentary:
Maureen criticizes Lopez for prioritizing attention and shock value over her image as a role model, especially considering her young children. She likens her behavior to that of characters in outdated TV shows, suggesting a disconnect from modern sensibilities and parental responsibilities.

---

Deaths of Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan

Overview:
In a heartfelt segment, Maureen and her guest Bill from Brooklyn mourn the passing of two iconic figures—Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan—discussing their cultural impacts and personal legacies.

Key Points:

• Ozzy Osbourne:

  • Remembered for his wild antics, such as biting the head off a bat during performances ([76:09]).
  • Acknowledged for transforming reality TV with The Osbournes, showcasing a different side of rock stars.

• Hulk Hogan:

  • Celebrated as a pioneer in professional wrestling, paving the way for modern icons like The Rock ([83:05]).
  • Discussed controversies, including personal scandals and the cultural shifts that affected his legacy.

Notable Quotes:

• Maureen Callahan ([76:07]):
  "Prolon is science backed nutrition that can help change your relationship with food in just 5 days."

• Bill from Brooklyn ([77:09]):
  "You just re. Listen to it. And everything that his father did, said, seemed to just try to drag Billy down further and not allow him to succeed."

• Maureen Callahan ([81:16]):
  "But still looks like the good guy because he just remains quiet. But his name is still brought up every single day."

Host's Reflection:
Maureen expresses genuine sorrow over the losses, acknowledging both men’s contributions to their respective fields. She highlights Ozzy's unique persona and Hulk Hogan's role in popularizing professional wrestling, underscoring their lasting influences despite personal controversies.

---

Billy Joel's Family and Generational Trauma

Overview:
A significant portion of the episode delves into Billy Joel's personal struggles, particularly his tumultuous relationship with his father and the lasting effects of his family's history.

Key Points:

• Father's Nazi-Era Experiences:

  • Billy Joel's grandfather, Carl Joel, was a textile industrialist in Germany who suffered under Nazi pressure ([62:41]).
  • The family narrowly escaped Nazi persecution, which profoundly impacted Joel's father and, subsequently, Billy himself.

• Emotional Scars:

  • Joel's attempts to reconnect with his father through music and concerts in Europe ([64:21]).
  • The ongoing emotional turmoil stemming from his father's inability to provide the support and understanding Billy sought ([66:36]).

Notable Quotes:

• Maureen Callahan ([63:53]):
  "How many years ago was that? Like seven maybe?"
  (Referencing Billy Joel's efforts to reconnect with his father during his Berlin concert.)

• Bill from Brooklyn ([67:10]):
  "Exactly. And he... She says that when he was dying, when Carl... she never says our father. She calls him Howard."

Host's Insight:
Maureen explores the deep-seated emotional conflicts within Joel, emphasizing how his father's harshness and lack of support have shaped his music and personal life. She underscores the tragedy of Joel never receiving the closure he sought, leaving him with enduring pain and unresolved questions.

---

Reality TV and Domestic Violence

Overview:
The episode addresses the normalization and portrayal of domestic violence in reality TV shows, supported by listener emails and Maureen's critiques.

Key Points:

• Examples of Reality TV Abuse:

  • Shah's of Sunset: Allegations of contestant Mike choking his girlfriend Gina.
  • Vanderpump Rules: James Kennedy's arrest for domestic violence.
  • Southern Charm: Shep's verbal abuse towards his much younger girlfriend Taylor.
  • Jersey Shore: Criticism of Jax’s portrayal and behavior.

• Listener Feedback:

  • Emails express concern over the rampant depiction of domestic violence, emphasizing its desensitization effect on audiences and the real-life implications for the individuals involved.

Notable Quotes:

• Maureen Callahan ([32:18]):
  "Domestic violence against women has become so pervasive and normalized on reality TV, especially on Bravo."

• Listener Email ([26:43]):
  "I worked in the industry at its inception. Please believe me when I tell you the darkness you have exposed does not begin to touch the inherent darkness baked into the genre from its very beginnings."

Host's Commentary:
Maureen criticizes reality TV for glamorizing and trivializing serious issues like domestic violence. She argues that these portrayals not only misrepresent the realities of abuse but also perpetuate harmful stereotypes and overlook the suffering of victims.

---

Listener Emails and Community Engagement

Overview:
Maureen engages with her audience through various listener emails, addressing personal stories and suggestions for future content.

Key Points:

• Personal Stories:

  • An anonymous listener shares her daughter's brief relationship with a Kennedy family member, urging other young women to read Ask Not as a precaution.
  • Another listener discusses being raised by a sociopathic mother and her journey to becoming a functional mother herself.

• Suggestions for Future Segments:

  • Topics like toxic siblings, sociopathic mothers, and runaway friendships after brain chemistry changes.
  • Proposal for a "Troublemakers Book Club and Watch List."

• Community Initiatives:

  • Announcement of the inaugural "Troublemaker of the Month" award to Jennifer of Woodshed Fame for her contributions.
  • Introduction of new troublemaker artwork and plans for merchandise and a potential Nerve convention.

Notable Quotes:

• Anonymous Listener ([75:02]):
  "Every young woman in America should read it as a prophylactic against Kennedy men because the book would have informed her when my words did not reach her."

• Maureen Callahan ([86:36]):
  "Keep emailing me, keep DMing me, keep sending me your artwork and your personal expressions of catharsis here among the troublemakers."

Host's Interaction:
Maureen fosters a sense of community by responding to listener inputs, incorporating their stories into her discussions, and encouraging continued engagement. She emphasizes the importance of shared experiences and collective support in addressing difficult personal and cultural issues.

---

Conclusion

Maureen Callahan's episode of The Nerve offers a comprehensive and engaging exploration of contemporary celebrity culture, personal trauma, and societal issues. Through sharp critiques, heartfelt discussions, and active listener participation, Maureen provides listeners with a rich tapestry of insights and reflections. The inclusion of guest Bill from Brooklyn adds depth to the conversations, particularly regarding the legacies of iconic figures like Billy Joel, Ozzy Osbourne, and Hulk Hogan. Overall, the episode serves as both a critical analysis of public personas and a platform for meaningful dialogue on deeper emotional and cultural matters.

---

Notable Ads Skipped:

• [00:00] Medical Professional Advertisement for Tremphya (Crohn's Disease treatment).
• [00:45] McDonald's Breakfast Promotion.
• [12:54], [32:01], [55:04], [55:52] Various Advertisements (Included in the transcript but omitted from the summary as per instructions).

Transcript

[Medical Professional]

Do Crohn's disease symptoms keep coming back. Tremphya Giselcomab May help at 12 weeks. Rapid symptom remission was achieved in most patients taking Tremphya and some experienced visible improvement of their intestinal lining. At 12 weeks and 1 year. Individual results may vary. Tremphya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease. Serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. Explore what's possible and ask your doctor about tremphya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit tremphyaradio.com.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Not all meals are created equal. For instance, breakfast has a spicy egg McGruffing for a limited time and lunch does it. McDonald's breakfast comes first.

[Podcast Host]

Hey everyone and welcome to your Tuesday edition of the Nerve. We have so much fun stuff for you today. It's, it's really a light show for the most part and I'm really happy about that. First, we are going to get into the new Gwyneth bio and pose a very serious question to you troublemakers. Are we maybe coming around on gp? Have you seen her pitch as the new spokesperson for Astronomer in the aftermath of the Coldplay kiss cam? We're going to take a look at it. Plus JLo's death jiggle. Thank you. Troublemaker continues unabated, as does Ben Affleck's fresh agony at being dragged into both of these storylines. And then we're going one. Bill Maher has resurfaced. The head has come up during his hiatus and he interviewed, I think we can now call him a nerve hero. Billy Joel got a lot of emails from you guys about Billy and his doc. We're gonna talk about it. We're gonna take apart some of Bill Maher's interview with Billy Joel like the Zapruder film because of course he made an ass of himself. Plus, okay, tons of feedback both on the reality TV mini and our inaugural segment on difficult moms. And not to worry, those of you who wrote to me and said, I want you, you can read it, but you need to keep details private or keep me anonymized. I've got you. Don't worry about it. Then. Then the one and only Bill from Brooklyn joins to give. That was a little Oprah of me. Forgive me. He's going to join us to give his takes on JLo Affleck, Billy Joel, the deaths of Ozzy Osbourne and Hulk Hogan last week. And we're going to discuss whether. Whether one Ben Affleck will ever find peace. And that we know may be a rhetorical question, but a philosophical one. Diving into nonetheless. Introducing a warehouse, your one stop shop for handmade, unique home goods sourced exclusively from small businesses. A warehouse is dedicated to supporting American manufacturers with over 75% of their items created right here in the US from hand thrown pottery to luxurious candles, every item is selected for its integrity, craftsmanship and story. Small businesses need our support now more than ever. This year, Forbes has predicted a record breaking 15,000 retail store closures in the US that is more than double the 7,000 plus closures in 2024. So by making the effort to support these small retailers, you can really make an impact and a difference in people's lives today. AwareHouse believes that true luxury isn't about brand names, labels or price tags. It is about the dedication, creativity and care that goes into every product. Visit awarehouseshop.com and use code thenerve for 15% off your first order. That's awarehouseshop.com code the nerve for 15% off your first order. First up, the Gwyneth biography, which has been everywhere for about the past week. It's coming out today. Troublemaker, Troublemakers everywhere. Just save your money, okay? I'll tell you what's in it and what's not in it and we can talk about it. I read it over the weekend and it was kind of a slogan. It was kind of a slog. And you know, that's a lot to say for somebody who most people either love her or hate her, but there's no in between. So she's a polarizing figure who has been in the culture for about 30 years. She's in her 50s now. She got famous when she was in her early 20s. I mean, we've been living with Gwyneth Paltrow for a long time. And if the best you can come up with is the headlines, okay, so there, there were a few takeaways we got last week. One of the most Gwyneth anecdotes ever she had. She complained, allegedly to a friend that she had to tell Brad Pitt the difference between Beluga caviar and Osetra caviar, which I had to look up. I didn't know the difference either. I didn't know there was an Osetra caviar. And, and she told the cosmetics scion, Aaron Lauder that Brad Pitt is dumber than a sack of shit. And listen, I think Brad Pitt's got that coming. He's had it coming for a while now. He's getting it. And there are also hints in this biography that Brad, even though he was a much bigger star when they got together, was threatened a bit by Gwyneth's, what was clearly a meteoric rise. And that wouldn't surprise me. Now, Gwyneth also, according to this book, Gwyneth, the biography. I mean, you would think it was like a queen of England. It's not that. It's a short Life. She's only 50, okay? According to this book, she told the late makeup artist Kevin Aquan that she loved it when Ben Affleck teabagged her. I understand that there may be troublemakers among you who do not know what trouble. Sorry, you know what trouble is, what teabagging is. And I'm going to pause here and pay homage to the great John Waters, whose movies, like, saved me as a kid. Like, I would go rent them and just die. Just laugh till tears were coming down my face. Now, he is credited with introducing the phrase teabagging into the lexicon. It was a movie he did called Pecker, I think. So this is. This is. I'm going to warn you, it's graphic. Children are around. You don't want to listen to this aloud, but it's very funny. So here is John explaining this sex act to a writer at Boing Boing. In a piece that was published April 17, 2009, John Waters and I quote, teabagging. It sounds so dainty, doesn't it? It sounds like you took your teabag out of your fine china and you just put it daintily on the saucer, out of your sight. Teabagging, John tells us, is, quote, by my definition, the act of dragging your testicles across your partner's forehead. In the uk, it is dipping your testicles into your partner's mouth. I didn't invent the term or the act, but I did introduce it in my movie Pecker. Teabagging was also a popular dance step that male Go Go boys did to their customers for tips at the Atlantis and now defunct bar in Baltimore. Hope helps. John Waters always helps in the culture. He always helps. Now, good part. It's all good. But this is great. Ben Affleck is scandalized by this. He has been leveled by this. He is utterly furious and he is contemplating, reportedly, a lawsuit. An Affleck source told Radar Online last week that, quote, this isn't going away quietly. Ben is livid and he is ready to fight back now. I am sorry, but just like Brad Pitt, I'm not sorry. Actually, this is Ben's karma. I bet Jennifer Garner was livid when rumors circulated that Ben was having an affair with Blake Lively on the set of the Town. Go look at those paparazzi pics of those two. The body language. Or when he was accused of sleeping with the nanny, which he has always denied. But I mean, come on, she walked away with a drop top. Lexi. She was going on social media posting images and video of herself to Katy Perry's Girl on Fire. Or I'm sure, I'm sure during his infamous Oscar speech, which we all just revisited an episode or so ago in which he said that their marriage was work. Or when he told Howard Stern that he drank himself into oblivion because he. I'm. I'm. I'm like, this is a. What do you call it? I'm not quoting directly. He felt trapped in their marriage. I mean, I think Ben can take this one. Okay? I think he can field it elegantly and just accept it as payback. And we will come back to him later, as promised in the show when we get to JLo's latest onstage. I mean, I would call them sexploits, but that almost sounds like it's darker than that. It's actually darker than that now. Okay, back to the Gwyneth book. There is otherwise really nothing in this book. Okay? The last half of the book is about goop and who cares? Do you really want to read about how she got the idea or how she came to do series A rounds of funding or how she interacts with her employees or her managerial style? Do you want to see the P&Ls, the profit and loss sheets? It's so dry. This book is so dry. And it's clear, clear that nobody in Gwyneth's circle talked to the author. Nobody. The only passage, by the way, that's relevant for our purposes at the Nerve. It goes to one Amy Griffin, who I think. I think her claims are specious at best. Those claims that are in the tell we addressed again in a recent episode. But I'm going to read the passage in this otherwise snooze of a book about. Well, okay, so this graph first goes to Derek Blasberg, who she does clock accurately in here. And he is the guy who last summer, Gwyneth was reportedly spreading the word that Derek had been a guest at her house in Amagansett and had fled in the middle of the night. And after literally shitting the bed and he left a mess for the maids to clean up and didn't leave a note or apparently even send a text giving a heads up, fled like a thief in the night down Montauk Highway. Okay. When I first met him, meaning Derek, I was a little dubious. Gwyneth admitted. I was like, are you a professional friend of celebrities? Yes, that's my aside. Anyway, Gwyneth. The author then goes on to say Gwyneth. Gwyneth's circle around this time also included Amy Griffin, wife of billionaire hedge fund founder John Griffin, whose firm G9, also invested in Goop. At first, Gwyneth told friends Griffin was one of her, quote, disciples and quote, wants to be me. I hope Amy Griffin is listening. So good. You know, it's true. But then she moved closer to Griffin and distanced from others. Well, you know, Amy is a big. A big investor in goop, so, you know, that's how that works. Okay. I also want to give you guys just a little peek behind the curtain as to how most of this stuff works, especially when it comes to unauthorized celebrity biographies. So what the. The author will have a meeting with sales and marketing about six months before the publication. And they will say to the author, what are the headlines? What's the stuff that nobody knew before? And that's the stuff we're going to try to plant as a first serial in like, meaning like a serial edition in like a People magazine. We're going to try to get you booked on CBS Sunday Morning or the View or the Today. You know, one of the very, like, there are very few mainstream media outlets left you can go to. So to get in is like, is really hard.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

And.

[Podcast Host]

And so usually what happens is unless you are bringing something really weighty to your subject matter, it's going to be the flashy stuff that gets the headlines. And the first serial in People magazine, which I believe was like three or four pages, like with art, and that's it. And they stripped this book for those parts. There's nothing else in this book. Nothing. It just makes me angry because it's such a money grab, you know, it's like. Anyway, so Gwyneth, just the other day this started going viral. You know, her ex husband is Chris Martin of Coldplay, who has found himself in the news cycle over the Astronomer couple, who are having an affair and have since been fired, let go, resigned, whatever. And so I bet Astronomer went to her and they came up with this. Take a look.

[Gwyneth Paltrow]

Thank you for your interest in Astronomer. Hi, I'm Gwyneth Paltrow. I've been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300 plus employees at Astronomer. Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common ones. Yes, Astronomer is the best place to run Apache airflow.

[Podcast Host]

So if you're listening, the question in that little typing sound accompanying that was a graphic that said Q colon underneath. Omg, period. What the actual F. Very cute, very clever. And then we get so. So that's likable Gwyneth. And see, this is where I really think a better author, a smarter one, frankly, would have been able to bring some sort of cultural criticism to bear here, because you have a Gwyneth who can be completely likable and funny in something like that. And like winking and nodding and we're all in on the joke. And then you get the totally insufferable Gwyneth, who last week was doing an Ask Me anything for her podcast. And she's asked, what do you think your husband most loves about her? And this is what? Buckle in. Buckle in. This is a little bit of a lengthy segment, but we gotta run it at length for the full effect. This is what we get.

[Gwyneth Paltrow]

Do you want to see Brad setting? Oh, I honestly don't have a favorite. He said.

[Podcast Host]

I truly love her husband's text.

[Gwyneth Paltrow]

Your physical beauty. The way your body moves through space, the way you disappear a little when you're working, the way your hands add something to a pan. Your love of dirty jokes and, well, plastered walls. How much you know about art, that you feel so comfortable naked and hate fake people. When you're needy, when you're angry on the road. I love when you chug water by the bedside at night. I like the things you choose to worry about and how you handle problems. I love your morning routine and when you act like I've been demanding you to get out of the bath when I haven't said a word about it. I love the skin on the back of your knees and the arch of your feet. And when you smile at me in bed after you've put in your retainers. I love how hard you try and how often you succeed. I can keep going if you like.

[Podcast Host]

I think that segment was like 28 seconds. That's a long segment. Maybe longer. Maybe closer to a minute. First of all, this guy clearly knows how to keep the peace at home. Okay, what do you like about me? He submits a laundry list that includes things like, well, plastered walls and like moving her body, moving through space. You forgot time on that continuum. Brad. It's Brad Falchuk, her husband. I mean, a person with a little more self awareness and a little less narcissism would have stopped less than halfway through that text and said this is a lot and I'm not going to subject you guys to it, okay? None of us want to be subjected to that. That is a provocative personality though. Okay? You got to give her that. And in this book, what we get is the equivalent. It's the equivalent of a book report. Gwyneth said this, then she did that, then somebody else said this and did that. I don't want a summary. I want something I can sink my teeth into. So save your money on Gwyneth the Biography, which frankly the self important title. And it's not, I don't know who came up with the title, whether it was the publisher or whatever. But like, doesn't it sound like the guy below Carey who's writing the doorstopper biography of Margaret Thatcher? Margaret. No, it would be called Thatcher the Biography. That's what it would be called. Anyway, we're going to get to interest like that too. So don't worry. Okay, now onto part two of the Billy Joel documentary dropped over the weekend. And I have been hearing overwhelmingly from you guys who are, are loving it, loving it, as you should. It's long, but it's part one and part two and both are long. I had to break them up. I'm hearing some of you same, but it is a really, really fascinating look into the psyche of a major consequential artist and who you know, in part the part two opens, we'll talk about it with Bill, but it opens with people filing into Madison Square Garden. And I've been to one of those shows and like, it is a party. It is a party. He brings so much joy to so many people, but he, he lives with so much darkness. And therein lies the, you know, therein lies the rub. There's, there's nobody like him. But so as, as I mentioned, one, Bill Maher conducted an interview with Billy over his break, I suppose. And it's not in Bill's druggie old man drug den. You know he smokes weed. I'm not saying he's doing anything more than that, but the vibe is always like, kind of like again like if you took a blue light to it. Anyway, Billy Joel is like, clearly I'm Billy Joel. You want me on your podcast, you come to me. Okay, you kissed the ring and Bill Maher did it. But so this interview takes place in a very well lit, like the, the walls are like just glass, you know, it's like floor to ceiling windows. And it's not Billy's place in East Hampton or Sag harbor, but it's one of his close associates. And so you'll see. I'm gonna set this up for you cause it's so good we're gonna go piece by piece through it a bit. So of course Bill Maher has to have his lame neon club random with Bill Maher sign like over his shoulder, which is like up against a piece of modern art that is very colorful and it just, it clashes. But you know, Bill Maher doesn't care. And if you are listening to this episode, I kind of want to implore you to stop it here and wait until you can watch it on YouTube because you have got to see as discussed with you guys many times. Product of a difficult home. I learned how to read micro expressions and intonations and body language. Like by the age of eight, I was at the level of like an FBI criminal profiler. Okay, so you gotta watch what's Billy Joel is the same. I promise you he doesn't miss a beat. He's clocking everything. He's clocking everything from the way Bill walks into the room to the way Bill sits down to Bill's body language to. And again, I got a lot to say about this interview. As someone who's a journalist, like okay, now and, and by the way you're dealing with Billy Joel who famously signs off like every show, he ends with this, this, these wise words to his audience. Don't take any shit from anyone. He says it after every show. And here he is, Billy Joel being more polite than deserved to one Bill Maher. Okay, so by the way, I'm just going to set this up. We all, we're all sophisticated viewers. It's not like Billy's just sitting at the piano waiting for his visitor to show up. It's all been set up and they've probably done multiple takes. And then we see Bill Maher approach the house, open the front door, close it and casually, oh so casually walk in and say hello to. Just watch it, watch it. Here we go.

[Bill Maher]

Hey Billy, beautiful piano. Do you play a little bit.

[Podcast Host]

Oh my God. Like he brought his best borsch belt material. Like that's the best he could come up with on the flight to New York. On the six hour flight from Los Angeles. That's the best he could come up with. Okay, next up, let's go.

[Bill Maher]

I saw the documentary. It's awesome. How fortuitous. On my network, hbo, I learned so much about you. First of all, your health. I mean, all your fans are wanting to know you had something. Did we fix it?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

It's not fixed. It's. It's still being worked on. You look good.

[Bill Maher]

You sound good. You sound. You look and sound like you.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

I feel fine.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, okay.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

My balance sucks. It's like being on a boat. Why?

[Podcast Host]

Oh, my God. Okay, first of all, Bill Maher calls it. I. I saw your documentary. It's awesome. He did not watch that documentary closely. He caught. He was sent highlight reels. I'm just going to say it. That's what I think. Just my opinion. He did not watch. It's awesome. Okay, I know. Like, if somebody said to me, I read your book. It's great, I know they didn't read it. Secondly, he says, you're. Oh, fortuitously, the documentary is on my network. Bill, I don't think HBO is your network. It's not. It's not the house Bill Maher built. Thirdly, he's asking Billy Joel about a very consequential and recent health diagnosis that he went public with. And he's busier. And Billy's clocking this, and we're gonna dial in on it even more closely in a second. Bill Maher is more concerned with setting up his cocktail. Billy Joel famously does not drink anymore. Hardcore alcoholic. Okay. Doesn't drink anymore. Oh, we gotta. We got just my opinion. We gotta attend to the cocktail and my Jo. Because what am I if I'm not a big baby with a pacifier in my mouth at all times? So tell me, Billy, about your horrific. I would think it's horrific to be told there's something wrong with your brain and we don't know what causes it, and we're not sure we can fix it, but sure, Bill, take a sip of your vodka tonic or whatever you're drinking. Okay, now watch this. Pay attention and watch Billy Joel watch Bill Maher. After Bill Maher asks this question and Billy tries to answer it.

[Bill Maher]

Take a look, but you're good. You look good.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

I feel good. I think they keep referring to what I have as a brain disorder, so it sounds a lot worse than what I'm feeling.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, we're going to replay a smaller part of that clip. Now watch very closely as Billy Joel is looking at Bill Maher having asked about this serious medical diagnosis. And Billy's answering it, and I swear to God, he Is a child of a very. We know it was a very difficult home, but had I not known that, this little interaction would have told me. Because he starts to answer the question in a very earnest way. And as he's talking, Billy looks at Bill Maher, turning his head over here to the joint and the drink. And Billy begins to. His eyes move elsewhere. He breaks the eye contact. Bill's broken the eye contact. So Billy moves his eyes elsewhere as if to sort of think to himself, like, am I boring this guy? Should I just end this little story right here? Okay, watch it closely. Watch it.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Sounds a lot worse than what I'm feeling.

[Podcast Host]

You know, I think this interview is very sloppy because Bill Maher cannot go deep. Bill can't. He doesn't want to. He can't go deep. He doesn't want to go deep. He's over at Billy Joel's borrowed house, you know, just. Just like, well, I could have a conversation with him without doing the homework because I'm famous and he's famous, and how hard could it be? Trust me, it's hard. Next, watch Bill try to level up to Billy Joel by name, dropping a very famous record executive. And I don't think it's going to have the intended effect. Bill Maher thinks it will. Take a look.

[Bill Maher]

I used to have this little argument with Clive Davis, who I know was instrumental in your career, right?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Okay.

[Podcast Host]

Billy Joel. Okay. Comparison. Bruce Springsteen being interviewed by Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama. You know what you do? You play three hours a night. And Bruce is like, yeah, Bill Maher. I know Clive Davis. You know what? I know him so well. We have this little debate. Clive was really important to your career, right? And Billy's like, yeah. Billy sees exactly where this hour and a half of his life is going. Okay, keep going.

[Bill Maher]

He was of the opinion that lyrics were more important than the music or as important. And I would say, well, there are certain people to. For whom lyrics are very important. They're called women. I mean, we all like lyrics, but.

[Podcast Host]

Look at Billy Joel just like, first of all, so Bill Maher says only women care about lyrics. Take a look at the composition of any given audience at a Billy Joel show at Madison Square Garden. Lo these many years, it's half and half, you dumbass. Secondly, you gotta slide a little misogyny in there. What are we doing if we're not making fun of women and their silly fixation on lyrics? And then you're saying this to a guy who. Who is one of the greatest lyricists of the 20th century. So what are you calling him? A woman? What are you doing over here, Bill? Okay, finally, let's let Bill Maher tell Billy Joel what kind of a lyricist he is.

[Bill Maher]

It's just not like, oh, well, good enough. So you know, I know in the documentary you said I.

[Podcast Host]

Something like I.

[Bill Maher]

Write searching for it speak. You don't really believe that.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

I think so. You use, I use plain language. I don't, I don't get flowery.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, you do.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

You think so. I try not to.

[Podcast Host]

Oh my God, again. Billy Joel, like you can see it. Like the veneer is very. He's had a lifetime of dealing with idiots like this. But I mean, first for Bill Maher to be searching about something he said in the documentary, Bill should have notes. You want to take a look at the Notebook? I used to take notes while watching the Billy Joel doc because so many fascinating things were said and talked about that I wanted to be sure I didn't miss anything. You know, he's sitting there. Oh, you said something. Oh yeah. You know what you said? You're a plain spoken lyricist. And you're not. You're flying flowery. And Billy's like, hey, I think I am. Like, I'm not, I'm not trying to pull one one over on anybody. Like, I speak in plain language. He does. That's why he appeals to so many people. He doesn't talk down to them. He doesn't use like a simpler word when a better one fits. He knows how to turn a phrase. He knows how to draw a character in vivid like three dimensional Technicolor and put dialogue in their mouths. And you know, where these people live and what they eat and what their problems are and, and what their dreams are. But Bill says you're flowery, Billy. And Billy's like, oh my God, if you say so, man. If you say so. Get outta my house. I just wanna say, you know, we here at the Nerve, we are huge fans of Billy Joel. We've done the homework. We're out here in Billy Joel stomping grounds on the east end of Long Island. Billy Joel, any of his people are listening to this show by any chance, Please let him know we would love to do a sit down interview with him, make up for that slop heap. Anyway, okay, up next we have a savagely brief as deserved brief, but savagely so recap of the most recent episode of and just like that. And then we are going deep on your emails. And plus we have new troublemaker artwork and our first in a monthly award to the Troublemaker of the month. Back in a minute. The American dream has changed. Forget the white picket fence. For most Americans, the real dream is getting out of debt. If you are feeling the pressure from rising prices, mounting credit card debt, and you're just trying to stay afloat, I want you to know there is a way out. Done with debt. They have one goal, breaking you free from debt permanently. They are not pushing loans or bankruptcy. Instead, their tough negotiators go straight to your creditors, slashing what you owe, wiping out interest and eliminating penalties. They do not stop until your debt is gone. And the best part? Most clients see more money in their pocket in the first month. You've worked too hard to let debt steal your future. With Done with debt, your dream of being debt free is actually possible. Visit donewithdebt.com and talk with one of their experts. It is completely free. But some of their solutions are time sensitive, so don't wait. Go to donewithdebt.com that's donewithdebt.com not all.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Meals are created equal. For instance, breakfast has the spicy egg McMuffin for a limited time and lunch doesn't. McDonald's breakfast comes first.

[Podcast Host]

We are back. Now, before we get to your emails, always the best part of any given show, we have got to do our duty and the proper cultural admin and dispatch with the latest episode of Just like Sorry and just like that. I mean, they're so sloppy. Why should I care if I'm even saying it right now? A few of the plot lines that again, if I am the head of HBO and I'm cutting checks for this thing to be associated with my brand, my business, I don't understand. I don't understand how these people, these scripts got through anything. Okay, first of all, we've got the Lisa Todd Wexler character always in her editing bay editing a documentary nobody's going to watch. And she's always dressed in, you know, $10,000 worth of clothing and jewelry and her makeup and her hair is perfect. And we understand that she has a crush on her editor, the guy who in his role on Law and Order, that guy is very attractive. Like he presents like a guy, like a, like a guy who could, you know, take another guy out back and just have his way. And in this show they've like neutered him. You know, he's like, there's no sex appeal whatsoever. But anyway, my point really is that this woman, were she really editing a multi part documentary, would be at her editing suite in a tracksuit now would it? Be a $400 Susie Conde tracksuit. Yes. But it would be a tracksuit nonetheless, because those are arduous, grueling days, and you need to be comfortable. And you're not gonna have your hair done and your makeup done. You're just gonna be trying to give birth to this thing that you're trying to put together. Secondly, the. There was a storyline involving. And I'm not going to go any further except to say it involved deodorant and hbo. Get your shit together. Get your shit together now. We saw SJP in a green dress. It was a combination of, like, a dirndl and, like, a beer garden dress. And, you know, she's over 60 years old. I don't think her character is. But our eyes do not lie. And she looks like the kind of woman you would see roaming around the neighborhood. And everybody else in the neighborhood would be like, she's nice, but there's. There's something wrong with her. She was born before. Like, we knew what special needs was. Just. Just steer clear now before we get to the insane writing editing sessions she's having with the ponce downstairs. Can I use that word? Is that politically correct? But it seems to fit. I don't care if it's politically correct. I found this comment on Vulture, which I thought was. It's gotta be true. So there was a commenter on the most recent episode. They're smart. I like reading those comments about Sarah Jessica Parker and why her character rarely, if ever, curses, but mainly going to the F word. And I quote, sarah told Time magazine that she felt Carrie, as a writer, would be more mindful of her vocabulary than to use the F word all the time, which made me laugh. I'm a writer and I know lots of other writers. And for us, using the F word is like breathing in and out. Yes. Nothing punctuates a sentence or a thought like it. She's so precious. It drives me nuts that she's on the Booker Prize committee. What does she know about writing? She's on a show that has the B storyline is deodorant and the use of. Get out of here now. The writing sessions going on downstairs. Okay, she's downstairs with the British author. And guess how we know he's a British author? He smokes a pipe and he brews tea. Are you kidding me? This is a joke. This is a joke. And then finally, we get to the big. The big happening of the episode, which is her breakup with Aiden for the millionth time, in which she never even says to him when he's like, are you kidding me? You're breaking up with me? She never says to him, yeah, you just slept with your ex wife. Get out of here with that. And by the way, this does not land at all because none of us have any emotional investment in it, because none of these characters do or say anything that has any fidelity to the original series that shows any maturity or respect for its audience, which was once a very loyal and loving and protective audience of that show and its legacy, and has now woken up to see what a bunch of crap it was in the first place and cannot believe that this is the garbage we're being served up every week. And now I know why Sarah Jessica Parker is so tormented that she's not considered a serious actress. She's stuck with this shit. She's stuck with it. Okay, now on to the important stuff. First, I wish I could do a drum roll. We are announcing the winner of our inaugural Troublemaker of the Month award. And it is an award and it's coming to you in the mail. And this goes to one Jennifer of woodshed fame. She built our original and she's now heroically at work on our Kennedy wing. We are in consultations right now about who and what is going in that woodshed. And for her contributions to the nerve and the culture, she will receive our special remaining Fox matchbook in its its glorious glass case with the strike on the side. Congratulations, Jennifer. We will be in touch as to where to send it next. We have some new and incredible troublemaker art which is done in the style of the old masters. I really appreciate the breadth and depth of your knowledge of all things cultural, you guys. So this comes from troublemaker Paul from New Zealand, I believe, who sent this with an email saying that our next episode should open with an amended line From Macbeth, Act 6, Scene 1, Hubble, Bubble, Toil and trouble. Troublemakers. And for those of you viewing, you can look at the troublemaker art. We're putting it up on screen and Paul made sure, for my purposes to note that I'm the troublemaker in the red and black sunglasses with the pearl double drop earrings. I mean, you guys do not miss a detail. I have a quill instead of a pen and there are papers tossed in disgust on the floor. I love this so much. I love it so much. Please keep your art and your emails coming. Now to said emails for the reality TV mini. A lot of you reminded me of examples I had forgotten and I was kind of. I felt I took myself to the woodshed a little bit. But you know, if I'm being fair, that is how pervasive and normalized domestic violence against women has become on reality tv, especially on Bravo. We continue. Mike from Shah's of Sunset got that show shut down. It's over. He allegedly choked his girlfriend Gina on who's still on the show. Not that she should be punished, but she, she is the victim here. But she's minimizes and normalizes what happened to her at the hands of her now ex husband. James Kennedy on Vanderpump Rules was arrested for domestic violence about nine months ago, I think. But we saw those signs and heard those rumors and the cast was talking about it on the show. They were heavily implying it. And I believe production knew. I believe Andy Cohen knew and I don't think he cared. And we just also in the past couple of seasons saw Shep from Southern Charm verbally abuse his much younger girlfriend Taylor on the show. And again, if this is stuff these people do on camera without thinking, imagine what they're like behind closed doors. And I've got an email to that effect. And of course on MTV's Jersey Shore. Sammy, sweetheart, I could go on now. Our poll results on Instagram overwhelmingly. No surprise you guys said Jax should have been cut loose from Bravo years ago. Okay, now onto your emails, darling. Maureen, I love this. Now this is from an anonymous. Per this troublemaker's request, she. So she's anonymous but is writing in to say her daughter dated the son of a very famous Kennedy last year. And I'm going to take out all of the identifying details. Their time spent was together was brief, she writes, but I was desperate for her to read Ask not. Yeah, every young woman in America should read it as a prophylactic against Kennedy men because the book would have informed her when my words did not reach her. They broke up after he just whatever it was. Like most Kennedy consequent conquests. Excuse me. This troublemaker believes her daughter was another female stopover. Thankfully she writes literal plane crash averted. Just a note. JFK Jr. 3 part CNN documentary woodshed all day long. We're going to be taking it apart episode by episode. You guys please watch it so we can all discuss together. Can I propose to you what would be super cool? A troublemakers book club and watch list. We are actively working on this. We will have news for you soon. Hi Maureen. I'm another Irish Catholic girl raised in the New York suburbs by an insane mom. I knew we were kindred spirits even before the last episode with Sam Vacnin, which you Guys really responded to we'll get into it. As for Billy Joel, this troublemaker was studying at Oxford University in England in the 1990s and it was announced that Billy Joel was coming to do a very special private show. Only 50 people were able to attend. This troublemaker was one of them. Her report, it was magic. He was so charming and self deprecating, kept making jokes about not being as smart as everyone there, etc, but knocked our socks off, played all the songs, took questions. One gal asked how she had heard in a gossip magic that Billy didn't think Christie Brinkley was pretty enough and that's why they had separated. His answer was to point at his face, laugh and ask if this looks like a guy who's gonna think that about her. What an artist. Hey, Maureen Stacey here. My friend Russell, who's also another troublemaker, came up with a header that would be a great segment title, the Last Nerve. This would basically be for stories in which enough is enough. We've endured this insufferable nonsense and the story or individual or the people have basically pushed us to one's last nerve under consideration. My only hesitation with that is, you know, a lot of these people, it's like whack a mole. You try to push them down using logic and humor and some humiliation, some well deserved, and they just pop right back up again. So tell me what you guys think now to reality tv. We got this email from a troublemaker who had worked in that genre for a long time, says, I worked in the industry at its inception. Please believe me when I tell you the darkness you have exposed does not begin to touch the inherent darkness baked into the genre from its very beginnings. Now she goes on to say that much of the conflict is manufactured based on conflict that the story producers find out about from the cast and the past and then they ratchet it up for the show, hoping for the most dramatic outcomes. This troublemaker says, I have seen people broken through my lens. Families ripped apart, traumas exposed, people pushed to the brink with absolutely no consideration from the network or the show. But legal and legally, it is so well buttoned up from the very beginning, the casting process, it is untouchable. Also, FYI, there is constant surveillance of people's residences and it's not concealed. There are lipstick cams in their houses and cars, which they consent to too. I am sure it is all in the contracts. So it is absolutely 100% known what goes on behind closed doors. So if they are saying, we don't know that that guy beats that cast Member this troublemaker says, not so the number of people I've seen, I'm going to generalize. Engaging in sex acts on their couch in the morning, knowing full well that we were watching. Believe me, there is no mystery to this. And by the way, if you want to see a great fictionalized version of what really goes on, there was an incredible show. Now it was. The first season's the best and really the only one worth watching. It's called Unreal. I think it aired on Lifetime. It was so good. And I felt like it had been passed on by more prestigious outlets because they all are doing the same thing and they can't show how the sausage is made and indict themselves. But it's set on a very Bachelor. It's the Bachelor, but they fictionalize it. And Constance Zimmer plays the showrunner. And she's ruthless. Like, there are no morals. There are no ethics. She's ruthless. And Sherry Appleby plays her protege. And she's like the conduit for the audience because she's like, we can't be doing this stuff. It's completely. We're ruining people's lives. We're messing with their minds to the point where they will not emerge intact from this experience. And we see her evolution and sort of being sucked into the maw of it. So that's it. That's a great one to watch. On to difficult mothers. Maureen, please keep an on. No problem. Would you be interested in doing a piece on sociopathic mothers and or addict mothers? I was raised by a sociopath and she went misdiagnosed with for decades because she is such a talented chameleon. I've been through loads of therapy and can say today that I am a functional, good enough mother of three exceptional human beings. Thank you for covering this topic. You guys. Tell us, are you interested in a piece on sociopathic and or addict mothers? Maureen, would you consider. I would love to. For you to dive into Naomi Judd. Such a great example of maternal jealousy towards Ashley. An absolute grooming of Winona. Take it, troublemaker. I think this is a great idea and I wonder if you guys would like us to maybe pull difficult mothers out of out of American history and pop culture. You know, like Elvis's mother, difficult mother, or you know, a Kris Jenner. I mean, send them my way. This could be a really fun one. The group therapy session with sam on the 7:25 episode July 25th was eye opening. Not just about difficult moms, but about the sudden fracture of close friendships. This is a very Interesting tantalizing observation. And I like it in the bit about brain neuroplastic how borderline women can spontaneously heal after age 35. Could that explain why some of our closest friends and even our sisters will suddenly abandon us with no explanation after years of mutual support? Maybe their brain chemistry suddenly changed and we no longer fit into their new perspective. Fascinating. Hi Maureen, thank you so much for the interview on both. Borderline personality disorder. It could have been a long form podcast. Maybe that's a good idea to add to your show. Why should the show have any limits on format? From what you've shared and what I've read about you, it might fit your style. A thought. I think this is interesting. Would you guys like a longer form nerve that are either special editions or just longer form? Let us know. This troublemaker goes on to say we had very similar mothers. I've spent a whole a lot of time in therapy on this and to observe from the outside, I think she means our episode was a game changer in my logical. She was able to see her experience through her logical brain. She says, not my emotional brain. So I get that completely. The rational brain and the pushback you get from the emotional brain. And I'm telling you, you're a million steps ahead. If you can even identify that a million steps ahead, the show really, really helps. And I want to thank you than that's why we're doing these shows. I never really thought I would talk about this like in any kind of public forum, but I knew it was gonna. I knew it was gonna land with you guys. So that's why we're doing it. Hey Maureen, I appreciate your efforts to scrub the culture of all of the sudden. Since you pointed it out, I have been noticing it more and more and it is driving me insane. Right there with you. I was wondering if you could also wage war on your guises. Happily. Stop it. Oh. Oh my God. Your guises is a scourge in the language. It needs to be stamped out immediately. Unfortunately, I also think people getting out of the habit of saying literally every other word might be a lost cause again. You know, I lay a lot of the blame for this stuff on morning show hosts. I do. And you know, again, the other day I swear I heard someone on television like a regular talking like a person who's beaming into your living room on the regular. This is the latest one World Wind instead of whirlwind. And I cannot believe there is not a learned producer, a literary, a person who could just jam into that ear, say hey you dumb dumb. Correct yourself. It's whirlwind. Do we need phonetic pronunciation in the teleprompter? I think we might. Okay, the final question here. Have you considered doing a segment on toxic siblings as well? I grew up with an older sibling who never seemed to like me very much and now that we are adults, we don't speak very often. You guys, again, tell us toxic siblings if you have personal experience. If you would like a deep dive on that, let us know and we are here for it all. I could have gone on with emails forever if we did not have time limitations. So keep emailing me, keep dming me, keep sending me your artwork, your personal expressions of catharsis here among the troublemakers. And remember to like subscribe and spread the word. Let's keep growing our troublemaker community. I think sooner than later we'll be doing a nerve con. I do, I do. And sooner than later we're going to be getting some merch up too. We've been hearing your requests for it and some of you are sending some of your own, which again, it's all under consideration. This is like a mind meld for the ages over here. So you can email me as you know at Maureen sorry maureenvilmaycare media.com DM me on Instagram at Maureen Callahan, writer or at the nerve show. Coming up, another colossal celebrity roundup. And Bill from Brooklyn is waiting in the wings just for you. See you in a minute. We've all had days when skin feels different. Dull hydration doesn't stick and energy is all over the place. And no amount of water, skin care or coffee seems to help. And that is where Peaks Radiant Skin Duo comes to the rescue. And this product has been a game changer since day one. This doctor recommended product, trusted by experts like Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Jason Fung and Dr. Will Cole supports whole body wellness from the inside out. With over 15,000 five star reviews, it is clear this product delivers results. Sun Goddess Matcha provides steady, calm energy throughout the day. No jitters. It supports skin clarity and gut health because great skin starts from within. BT fountain electrolytes hydrate like nothing else. Even with plenty of water, many of us still feel dehydrated. The difference? Clinically proven ceramides lock moisture into the skin at a cellular level, leaving it plump, fresh and glowing. Purity matters. Peaks Quadruple toxin screening ensures all ingredients are free from heavy metals, pesticides and mold. Just clean science backed hydration and energy. So say goodbye to fatigue, to dry skin and to energy crashes are you ready for healthier hydration? Get 20% off plus a free frother and glass beaker here peaklife.com thenerv Again that is peaklife.com thenerve Want to look.

[Product Advertiser]

And feel your best this summer? Don't just think skin deep, think cell deep with Prolon. Prolon is a plant based nutrition program featuring soups, snacks and bever beverages that nourish the body while keeping it in a fasting state, triggering cellular rejuvenation and renewal. With proper diet and exercise, Prolon can help target fat loss, support lean muscle and reset your metabolism so you look and feel your best all summer long. Prolon is science backed nutrition that can help change your relationship with food in just 5 days. Get 15% off plus a $40 bonus gift when you [e-mail] PandoraPromo these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. See site for details.

[Podcast Host]

We are back and here with me as promised, the one and only Bill from Brooklyn. Bill, welcome back to the Nerve. Thank you for joining us.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Thank you so much for having me back on.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, great to be thrilled. I'm thrilled because we're going to get into, we're going to get into Billy Joel, our mutual, our mutual obsession. But so we are. First, we're going into an inaugural segment which I'm very honored you're here for. We're calling it Nerve Damage. It was the suggestion of a troublemaker. As we know, Jennifer Lopez has been having a midlife crisis for the ages. She's splattering the world so stages with her. Bullshit. She is, she is simulating. We're going to show it on screen and I want you to also take a look. She is here. She is simulating oral sex, taking it up the rear. And the other night on stage in Italy, whoops, her skirt fell off. Oh my gosh. Her skirt just fell off. And look, she's just such a girl. She's just such a. Oh, she's so. Oh my gosh. It was a good thing I was wearing underwear. She says. I usually don't wear underwear. Aren't I just the sexiest thing? I first of all, if that truly fell off, I think there would be a beheading of a stylist backstage. Post haste. That thing was designed to fall off the minute she wiggled a single hip. Bill, your opinion.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Just watching that, you, you could see that it was like a device that was meant to fall off. It just, it fell in One shot, there was no slip. Slowly dragged down. And it's just sad. I mean, she's. I mean, I guess could be considered a global icon, but she's up on stage like this. This kind of reminds me of. Remember Saved by the Bell?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

That girl went on to graduate to that movie Showgirls.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

It's just I. I feel like that's what I'm watching, but in real slow motion of her just melting down and doing anything for attention. It's just how much, you know, you have kids, you have, you know, young kids and you're up there on stage being half naked. Like, I, I don't know. I don't. I don't even.

[Podcast Host]

That half naked stuff. It's the, like straddling her male dancer with her thighs wrapped around his neck. Like, she doesn't care about those kids. Just my opinion, if she gave a shit, she'd think about what they're going to go through at school in September. You know, like, gave a shit.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

You probably wouldn't have married Ben Affleck either.

[Podcast Host]

Well, you know this. I think so. We're getting word, this is breaking news, that Ben Affleck, he's not only upset about Gwyneth Paltrow divulging his predilection for teabagging, but he's livid with JLo. And the statement is, we're going to show again my inner Andy Warhol now has a place to express itself. Because you know that famous photo of Muhammad Ali on Esquire where his hands were behind his back and the arrows. We mocked that up with Ben Affleck. Ben Affleck is suffering the slings and arrows of not just Gwyneth Paltrow, but one Jennifer Lopez who's been dragging him through the town square just like Michelle Obama's dragon, Barack. We are all going to suffer because Ben Affleck dumped her. We are all being made to suffer because of this. What will it take to stop it?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

I think Ben Affleck personally loves it. I think.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, you do?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Oh, I think he loves all the attention. And listen, I'm no celebrity expert, but I just. You know what? I would read through that divorce and how it came out. It seemed very carefully and delicately scripted on his behalf to not appear as the bad guy and to try to do everything he could to, to let her down gently in the public view and then now to have. But he loves the attention, he loves the drama, he loves all of this circling around him, but he still looks like the good guy because he Just remains quiet. But his name is still brought up every single day.

[Podcast Host]

You know, I agree with you that Ben Affleck has an inner drama queen. And I think you and I can identify this because we would often say this about our dad. He loves drama. He love. Our dad, loved drama. Like, he presented as like a very stoic, like, you know, like a, like a strong kind of masculine guy, but like he. He loved some emotional messiness. Okay, now to that point, I want to get into the Billy Joel doc with you because I had. There was. So we covered a lot of Billy's childhood in part one of the. In our nerve episode covering part one. So I want to talk to you about part two. And Billy got into more of his family and the generational trauma of his past. Now, I did not know this, and apparently there's another documentary about it that I got to look into, but his grandfather was named Carl Joel, and he was a very successful textile industrialist in Germany. And when the Nazis came to power, he stuck it out until he finally realized he had to leave. Like, the Nazis were on his doorstep. They forced him to sell his business to the government for like, pennies. And then the final insult was they never even paid him. He and his wife got out by the skin of their teeth, Billy says, in the dock. Like, had they been asked for their papers on the train out of Berlin, they would have been sent to a concentration camp. And the irony, not the irony, but the cruel twist of when the Nazis did take over Karl Joel's textile plant, they forced the workers to churn out the striped pajamas that they made everyone in a concentration camp, all the Jews wear. And that he believes his father was so tormented because he was the child of Holocaust survivors. And I didn't know this either, that Billy's father, under General Patton, helped liberate Dachau. I mean, how did this strike you in terms of what we're beginning to understand about, like, depression and generational trauma?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

I guess it, you know, it does help tell the story a little bit. And I mean, you see the years of alcohol abuse and, you know, despite the massive successes that he's had, it almost seems like there's so many self inflicted gunshot wounds there or motorcycle accidents, car accidents, whatever it is. I mean, the one accident that almost took his career away, breaking his wrist. The. He wanted the success, but didn't believe he deserved to be there because of what those before him have gone through. And I'm sure there's a little bit of guilt in his mind that keeps him from Truly enjoying it and appreciating everything he has.

[Podcast Host]

Well, what about the jealousy of the father towards the young Billy? Like, it was evident from a very early age that Billy Joel was a prodigy. Like he was teaching himself classical music by ear. The father knocked him out when he was 8 years old. I believe it was just over the sheer prodigious talent on display that the father would never approach, ever.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

And what does that make you do as a kid? Does that make you strive to do better? To. You think, maybe if I did better, my father wouldn't be this angry at me? Or does it make you hate him? Or both? And then you're stuck trying to figure out which. Which emotion is the right one. And there is no right one there. I mean, being assaulted as a child by your father, it's got to do lifelong damage to someone.

[Podcast Host]

So then the father disappears, goes back to Europe. He tells Billy he thinks America is trash and goes back to Europe. Vienna goes. And this is the subject of Vienna. Billy's really the subject of Vienna. And he says in the documentary, or maybe he said it to Bill Maher, like, he just kind of realized that Vienna is about him. Which, again, like, that's all of Billy's internal conflict, his demons, the things that bring him joy, they all come out in his music. He doesn't really go deep in conversation. But he does say in the documentary that his father. So he. This was so poignant. I don't know if you remember this, but he's a huge star now by this point. He's a huge star, and he goes to Europe and he books himself into these tiny little clubs and bars because he's just trying to find his father. Like, the whole point of that little mini tour, it was a fig leaf. It was a Trojan horse to track down his father. And then at the last minute, he's at the airport getting ready to fly back, and he gets a call like, we found your father. And he could never get in. Like, Billy could never get in. He says that one of the most memorable things his father had to say to him, and this, I think, is so telling because he's saying this to his son, who is a global superstar. He says, life is a cesspool.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

It. It. It's. You just re. Listen to it. And everything that his father did, said, seemed to just try to drag Billy down further and not allow him to succeed. Not. You know, it's. It's funny, like when. When we lost our father, I had a friend come to me and say, today you lost the only man that ever wants to see you do better than him in life. And I thought about. That was the first time I'd ever heard it. I thought about it and I said, you know what? That's. That's. That's incredibly true. And he didn't even get that. He didn't even. Billy Joel could not even get that from his own father. So that's a. That's a difficult emotion to have to carry around for your entire life.

[Podcast Host]

You know what also struck me is his sister is in the documentary who I had never seen or really heard from before. And she's talking about when Billy was at his father's deathbed in the hospital. Now she calls the father Howard. She doesn't call him dad or. She never says our father. She calls him Howard. And I think that is so emotionally healthy because she owes this guy nothing.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

He's laid the borderline down right there. That's. You're. You're just. You're a guy named Howard. You're not. You're not family. You're not father. You're. You're. You're just Howard.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly. And he. She. She says that when he was dying, when Carl. Sorry, not Carl, Howard, was dying, he and Billy were looking at each other almost blankly. And Billy then later says what haunts him is that his father died without Billy ever really getting to ask him to get the answers he wanted from his father. And when he said that, my heart broke for him a little bit because I was like, this is not the kind of guy who's ever gonna give you the answers. Never again.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Imagine this. You're still holding on to this at late 70s, like this, this pain, this. Something is still with him and that he's articulating in an interview and. And putting it out there for the world to see. I mean, it. What that must have come out in his music and in his life and the choices he made. I think it's. You know, that this documentary is probably just scratching the surface on who he really is, 100%.

[Podcast Host]

And then when the doc gets to him being the first American to play in Berlin after the wall came down and east and West Berlin, it's the reunification. And I thought to myself, daddy issues galore. Daddy issues? The reunification of Berlin. Are you kidding me?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

I wonder what it was that he had to do to get that concert. There had to be. Every superstar in the world must have wanted that. And I wondered just how hard he had to work to get that.

[Podcast Host]

That is a great point. That didn't Occur to me. And then it's the same thing with going behind the iron curtain. Yeah, yeah, like the iron curtain. That's Daddy, that's the Iron curtain. Love me, Daddy. Look at me. Look at me over here. I'm in Russia. I'm at the Berlin Wall, fell. Look at. He can't get it. Nothing he can do.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Yeah, you'll never get it. Just. He was, I guess, born into an unfortunate circumstance. And no matter. I mean, how much more successful do you have to be than Billy Joel to get some type of recognition from your father? And you can't do it. It's just sad. It's hard.

[Podcast Host]

So this was the thing. Now this is where I think I want to get into a bit of Billy's self destructiveness. Because every major person with a major self destructive streak, you know, it comes out in its own personalized way. There were, of course, the accidents, and there were, of course the, the car crashes. And there was at least one in Sag harbor where he crashed his car into someone's home. Now, two thoughts. This is how beloved Billy Joel is in New York, and especially on his native Long Island. He blamed the torments and stresses of 911 on that car crash as the cause. And New York basically said, it's cool, Billy, we'll let you get away with it. 9 11. And secondly, though, the metaphor of crashing his car into an intact home, Right? Like he's crashing into something that represents ostensible domesticity, safety, happiness, warmth and comfort.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

But it's Billy Joel. Like, if he crashed into my house and everyone was okay, I probably have some kind of plaque there. Like Billy Joel crashed here.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, I would definitely get a plaque. But what do you make of the psychology of that? Like, you know, crashing like a house?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

You know, I was thinking about this all day and all the choices he's made, the marriages, the failed marriages, the bedroom, even to this day, like having a wife so much younger than him and young kids that he's never gonna get to see. And then I go back to that concert that we went to.

[Podcast Host]

And how many years ago was that? Like seven maybe?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

I don't even remember the garden.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, during his residency.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Yeah, it was. It was on the earlier part of it. But I remember when Piano man came on as the final song, and at the end of the song, he stopped. He sat on his chair and spun around slowly with no piano, no music, and just listen to the crowd singing his song. Singing, yo, that's. That's his song, what he's known for. And I I still to this day remember that looking down at him and saying, this old man is just realizing his life's work here. Like, he's. I think for the first time, he's really appreciating it. And everybody finds. Yo. Everyone has their journey in life, and it's different for everyone. And this is Billy's. For some people, it's family. Some people it's career. For Billy Joel, it was music. And I think that moment was him realizing I've succeeded just sitting and looking at everyone singing his song.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I think he did that every night of his residency. I think he says it in the documentary, which. The. Part two is great because it opens with a show at the Garden, and you see the fans coming in, and you see Billy coming in through the underground and what his show prep is like, and you see it from his point of view, taking the stage, and then you see people in the Garden, and it's just as when we went. It's all walks of life. It's young, it's old. It's different races and ethnicities. And to see really young people knowing all the words and. And it's a party. And I think, you know, he says in the documentary that it wasn't until the Garden's residency when he really realized the true effect of his life's work. That it mattered. That it mattered. And that it was born out of. Okay, back to nine, 11. No, Sandy. It was the tribute, the benefit concert.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

12 concert.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, for Sandy at the Garden. And Billy Joel was like, of course, he's a New Yorker. Whatever he could do to help. And that of every act that performed that night, it was Billy's that went viral and where people were online going, oh, my God, Billy Joel is a legend. This guy is an incredible artist. Like, love, love, love. And that's what spurred the idea. And this. These shows at the Garden, which were only supposed to go. Maybe there were six booked. I mean, he went on for what was the thousandth show when he finally pulled the plug.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Was that it?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

No, it was like 10. 10 years. He did, right? 10 years. One.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. But he ended up. He ended 10 years and I think on like, a round number at the. At the Garden, it was something insane like that, but sold out all the time. And I remember when I was waiting for you, when we were. When we were going to that show, there are all these commuter bars around Penn Station, which is underneath Madison Square Garden, and the commuter bars. So I went into one for, like, a burger and a beer. But they all all those bars turned into pre gaming Billy Joel parties. They were showing on a loop all of his performances at the Garden and all like. And it was just. He's such. To me, he's like the Empire State Building. He's just as much a part of New York history.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Oh, 1,000%.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

That show, like. I mean, I've been to a few concerts. Not as many as you, but I've been to a few. And you know when people are up there just performing because they're getting paid to. But I saw him twice, and both times I just. I really felt that he was so happy to be there doing that show. And just as happy as we all were. I mean, there were grandparents with their kids and grandkids sitting all around us having a great time. Like, you don't see that ever.

[Podcast Host]

It's so true. It's so true. It's so. And you know, the other thing I'll say before we move off of Billy, he. I so appreciate him because one of the things that the documentary got into was Billy. Why'd you stop writing? Why'd you stop writing music? And he still writes, but he writes classical music. And he says, listen, I said what I had to say. And by the way, writing's a pain in the ass. To which I can attest. Writing, I do a different kind of writing, but it's a pain in the ass. And, you know, I think. But especially when it comes to rock and roll and pop, that is a young man's game. And you are angry at the world, you're on fire. You've got stuff to say. You want to express yourself, you want to make a name for yourself. And usually when, like an artist hits about 40 or 45, they're kind of tapped out. I'm not gonna say it's true for everybody, but creatively, it's for most people. And so when you go see a legacy act, like when you go to see the Stones, I don't wanna hear the new material. I want the hits. And Billy Joel knows exactly what he's doing. He's not subjecting his audience to some lame new material. He's giving you the hits. And I think many artists, legacy acts, could take a note from Billy Joel.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Agreed.

[Podcast Host]

Now, on to a couple of losses of last week. And I want to talk to you first about Ozzy Osbourne. I didn't have. I didn't have the reaction that I was seeing in the culture, which is like, oh, cuddly Ozzy of the reality show. The Osbournes, like, The wacky rock and roll drug addled dad, you know, he was so funny. Like, I was like, this guy was dark. You know, I never bought that he. The bat that he bit the head off of, that he thought it was a fake. There is no mistaking a fake inert plastic bat for a live one that is doubtless struggling to get out of your slimy, sweaty grip. And he did it with doves. At a record executive meeting. He bit the head off of at least one. They were practically throwing up. And he was like, yeah, that was great. Go on, go on.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

You're saying that from a perspective of somebody that, you know, is sober, you know, God knows what he was on when he bit that, so.

[Podcast Host]

Billy. But we've known a lot of addicts. We come from a huge Irish Catholic family, okay. And we grew up in a huge town full of Irish Catholics. So it's like they were in our family, in our friend group, you know. Did you ever know an addict who bit the head off a live animal, A bird?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

No, but Ozzy, Ozzy is next level.

[Podcast Host]

I think Ozzy was a psychopath.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

He was. But I, I had a little bit. I, I understand your reaction to it, but I have, I have my own thoughts and I, you know, I listened to, you know, 104.3 played, you know, just Ozzy on the string, Ozzy and Sabbath. And, you know, there's a little part of you that, that, that goes when each one, you lose a little part of yourself, a little part of your, Your childhood, your adolescence, or your early 20s where it's a time that you had no cares, you had all freedom in the world. And when you see, you know, a, A global icon like Ozzy, when, when he passes, you know, party goes with him. And yeah, he was all those things and, you know, not the greatest guy, you know, guy that would, you know, kill a live animal or, you know, some of the stuff he did, I'm. We don't even know a small percentage of it. He was still there for, for generations to, you know, there's a part of his music that I think probably appeals more to. To men than maybe women. Kind of like Zeppelin. We've had that conversation.

[Podcast Host]

I love Led Zeppelin and I love old Black Sabbath and Ozzy and I mean, Crazy Train is one of the greatest songs ever. I love it. I can appreciate him and what he brought to music. And I, you know, I was looking back at some of the coverage of him from the 80s and I kind of get why it seems almost quaint now, but Remember when there was the huge parents activist group formed by Tipper Gore, that great Killjoy, and she was like Princess Sullying the minds of an entire generation. We all turned out fine. Okay. The Empire State Building went purple when Prince died. I don't think it's going to happen for Tipper, you know, but, you know, I remember the coverage of Ozzy and heavy metal and death metal and like, how it was bringing Satan into America's living rooms.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Yeah. Albums backwards. You were hearing messages to commit suicide. Like. Yeah. All that.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

It's just. It's still a part of our history. It's a part of our. Our childhood and adolescence that that is. Is now gone. I think that's a big part of it.

[Podcast Host]

I think your point is absolutely spot on. And I also think he did give something to the culture. The. The original Osbourne's show was unlike anything else that we had ever seen, you.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Know, and to see, like the original reality tv. Was there anything?

[Podcast Host]

No, I think real world, I mean, there was a. There was a PBS series about a family called the Loud Family that really was the originator. But the real world, I think world, excuse me, was the first. And then. But in terms of like, fly on the wall inside the home of a family just sort of living their life, except the father, you know, is a huge, huge rock star who has since been defanged. And I'll never. I think I was working at Spin magazine when we got the trailer for that, and we were all doubled over, like we were crying with laughter. Like there was that. There was this famous scene where his Kelly, who was very young at the time, comes home with a tattoo and Ozzy's, like, apoplectic, and he's like, oh, my God, your mother's gonna kill me. Your mother's gonna kill me. Cause you got. You know, it's like. Like, it was kind of like the joke. Like Tony Soprano could run the mob, but he couldn't run his own house, you know?

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Sorry. Go on.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

No, I. You know, it. Losing Ozzy, you know, that it. I, I get the. The. The struggle with it because of the person, but it's still. I think it's still a sad day. And there's still a big piece of rock and roll that. Or, you know, metal. That just. It wouldn't exist. Music wouldn't be the same without him today.

[Podcast Host]

Agreed. Completely. Very well said. Couldn't have said it better. And on to another one who I. I know is near and dear to your heart. Hulk Hogan.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Talk to me about that one and the cultural impact of Hulk Hogan.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

So I remember first time I saw Hulk Hogan as a kid was early 80s. The Iron Sheik was, had just won the, the wrestling title, the heavyweight title. And he was an Iranian that would come out into the ring and he would spit on the American flag and stomp it down. And then here came Hulk Hogan, who I hadn't heard of before. I don't think many people had, I guess, except for his small role in Rocky 3. And he comes out and he saves, he saves the country. He beats the Iranian and he brings back the title and the glory to the United States. And then, you know, all through his career, you know, with the WWF or WWE as it's now known, you know, he's, he's the, he's the icon. He's the Michael Jordan of professional wrestling. He first put it on the map for, for others to follow him for the billion dollar industry it is today. You know, another part of it is then, you know, you don't always want to meet your heroes. And you see what happens behind closed doors in some of these shows. And that, that whole Gawker sex tape with, with his friend's wife, like, that was, that was a hard one to see and read about, you know, seeing that one that was just ugly in so many different ways. But yeah, I mean, the struggles with his daughter, you know, towards the end, it sounds like he tried to make amends but for whatever reason was unable to.

[Podcast Host]

But that one always really hit me. I just always felt that he had been somehow in some way inappropriate with her. Remember they had that reality show and he was always talking about her in like a bikini and like it just, it felt ugh. Ugh. But you know, to your 80s recollection of him, and he was such an icon in the 80s, I always associate him with that era in American history which was like really the people who were big were big. They were monolithic. It was. I didn't care at all about wrestling and I knew who the guy was and I knew what he did and I knew he had like this look and like the yellow and the ripping of the, of the tank. And you know, it, it felt very in line. It's funny you mentioned Rocky iii. Like, it's a very Sylvester Stallone approach to America even. And Schwarzenegger too. America versus the bad guys. We, they always depicted America as the good guys. And I think that that's sort of why he really, he stuck, he's stuck in the culture for so long. I think because of that.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

The other thing is, you know, back then to, to reach that level, to succeed that, that high, you had to work, you had to have a great the storyline or look or just have so much talent. And you know, then there was, there was no social media. So the attention span wasn't 35 seconds. Like you could, you could hold an audience for a while. And he did for many, many years and even carried that. I mean he was still wrestling in his 50s and still, you know, drawing crowds. And you know, despite, you know, as he, as he got older, some of the other wrestlers that were coming up, you know, there was some debates with him about how good of a, you know, co worker he was in the ring and would he allow someone else to succeed at his own, you know, fear of his own loss. I mean, you know, there was a lot of that that was out there. But still, I mean, you know, same way with Ozzy and music. I don't know if wrestling is where it is today without Hulk Hogan.

[Podcast Host]

Same. The culture isn't where it is. We don't have the Rock as a global export in all forms of media without Hulk Hogan.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

No 100%. I mean, Hulk Hogan paved the way for all those guys. And you know, I mean the Rock was like, you know, I know it was because of frequencies. He'll make any movie like Samuel L. Jackson, but I mean he was the highest paid actor in a couple years from what I read. Has to start somewhere. And you know, I'm sure that, you know, the wrestling I saw on the news, the wrestling world, they did a real nice tribute to him as a send off and you know, it's still, it's again part of your childhood. Right. Hulk Hogan was probably the early, you know, preteen years and then you know, the adolescents and then Ozzy took from there and you know, you lost two real important figures in a very short time.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you, Bill, for coming on to talk about all different. We did wrestling, we did rock and roll, we did Billy Joel's psyche and his father issues and as always, Ben Affleck. We got a touchdown on Ben because he's never green.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Absolutely. Thank you for having me. It was great being here.

[Podcast Host]

Great to have you. See you soon.

[McDonald's Advertiser]

Bye.

[Podcast Host]

And that is it for today's edition of the Nerve. We will see you all back here on Friday for our next catharsis. We will definitely have an update on the Kennedy wing. In the meantime, continue emailing. Dming me. Tell us we've got some great stories in the hopper for Thursday, but if there's anything in particular you want us to touch upon again, let us know and and we'll be talking all about it on Friday right here on the Nerve, where you will never guess what we're about to say next.

[Medical Professional]

Do Crohn's Disease symptoms keep coming back? Tremphya Giselcomab May help at 12 weeks. Rapid symptom remission was achieved in most patients taking Tremphya and some experienced visible improvement of the their intestinal lining at 12 weeks and one year. Individual results may vary. Tremphya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease. Serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections and liver problems may occur. Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. Explore what's possible and ask your doctor about Tremphya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit trempiaradio. Com.