Billy Joel sent a strong message to both President Donald Trump and the country’s white supremacists at his New York City concert on Monday night.
The 68-year-old singer, whose father and paternal grandparents fled Germany to escape the Nazis in the ’30s, added a symbol of particularly timely significance to his outfit while performing at Madison Square Garden.
On the front and back of his jacket, he donned two yellow felt Star of David patches, much like the ones Jews were forced to wear in Nazi-conquered countries during World War II and the Holocaust.
Never forget: Billy Joel wore a Star of David patch on his suit jacket while performing at Madison Square Garden on Monday night
Close to home: The 68-year-old singer was born to two Jewish parents; his father fled Germany as a child during the Holocaust
Proud: He made a strong statement, and also wore a star on the back of his jacket (Joel’s stage, in the middle of the floor, rotates during the concert)
Yellow badges were first introduced as a way to identify Jews in Europe in late 1938. When Nazis invaded Poland in September 1939, they became mandatory there, and they soon were required in all of the countries acquired by the Nazis.
On Monday, Joel took the stage at the Garden — his 44th monthly show since he began his residency there in 2014 — wearing similar yellow felt stars on his jacket.
The patches seemed to serve as a reminder of what happens when Nazis, racists, and white supremacists gain control.
It was a particularly strong message to send so soon after the dueling protests in Charlottesville, where white supremacists marched with Nazi regalia and swastikas.
After the clash — which left anti-Nazi protester Heather Heyer dead — Trump came forward to offer words that many found to be lacking in proper condemnation for the Nazis and white supremacists.
Getting political: At one point in the evening, he invited singer Patty Smyth out to sing her song Goodbye to You
Eliminations: On the screens above him, images of fired Trump administration staff (including Sean Spicer, pictured) were shown
Off the island: Steve Bannon and Anthony Scaramucci (pictured) also showed up on the screen
‘I think there is blame on both sides,’ he said. ‘You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say it, but I will say it right now.’
Also in the concert, Joel welcomed singer Patty Smyth on stage to sing her song Goodbye To You — while cheekily paying homage to those who’ve already been axed from the White House, including Steve Bannon the Anthony Scaramucci.
The fact that Joel shared his opinion is a surprise, as he spoke earlier this year about keeping his political opinions to himself..
‘I try to stay out of politics. I am a private citizen and I have a right to believe in my own political point of view, but I try not to get up on a soapbox and tell people how to think,’ he told Rolling Stone this year.
And his family agrees with him. Joel’s most recent ex-wife, Katie Lee, wrote on Instagram: ‘Truly in awe of my former husband @billyjoel wearing the yellow Star of David at his concert at MSG last night. He is an incredible man and what a way to take a stand. He continues to inspire me and I hope he does to each and every one of you. #solidarity’
Behind him: Two of Joel’s ex-wives — Katie Lee and Christie Brinkley (right) — Instagrammed pictures and shared their support
Warning: Christie applauded him for ‘reminding people what was… so it may never happen again’ and saying her daughter Alexa Ray had another reason to be proud
Thumbs up: Katie Lee, who was also married to Joel, said she was ‘truly in awe’ of her former husband and added that he ‘continues to inspire’ her
Beaming: His daughter, Alexa Ray, was particularly proud of her ‘pop’
Christie Brinkley, who was married to Joel from 1985 to 1994, also shared a picture of the singer on stage, along with her words of support.
‘And on the day of the Solar Eclipse a yellow star appeared on the jacket of another kind of star, with a [clenched] fist that seemed to be gripping painful, no excruciating, memories of loved ones who wore that star to their death,’ she wrote.
‘May that star also remind you today of the gold stars pinned to the jackets of soldiers for their bravery and valor for fighting an evil so hideous even the gold stars in the sky were afraid to shine. Thank you Billy for reminding people what was … so it may never ever be again.
‘My darling @alexarayjoel another reason to be proud of your Pop,’ she concluded.
Alexa, who was at the concert, also chimed in: ‘Now, THIS Is How You Do It. THAT’S MY POP!!! Proud Jewish New Yorker Through & Through!!!!! REPRESENT! STAND STRONG!’
No ‘both sides’ about it: Just days before, she shared a lengthy message about Nazis on Instagram
Feeling it: Alexa, pictured with her parents, added that the issue was important to her as the granddaughter of a Jewish refugee
Getting out: Joel’s grandparents escaped Germany with his father in 1938 as Nazism rose
Last week, Alexa had also shared similar thoughts on Instagram, calling out Trump for his statements.
‘Here’s what all decent and sane human beings should be able to agree on: When it comes to condemning the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazis waving Confederate and Nazi flags around, shouting “Jews Will Not Replace Us,” and giving Hitler salutes — THERE SHOULD BE NO MORAL AMBIVALENCE OR EQUIVOCATION.
‘There is no such thing as “both sides were to blame.” Those who resisted fascist White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis were right to do so.’
She went on: ‘In World War Two there was horrific violence perpetrated by both sides. But once again: There was a CLEAR right side and wrong side.
‘This is a personal, deeply-rooted issue for me. My grandfather’s family were driven out of Germany, and the rest of them were all slaughtered in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.’
Hatred: The family seems to be calling out President Trump for not making a stronger condemnation of Nazis who marched in Charlottesville
‘I think there is blame on both sides,’ Trump said. ‘You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violen’
The threat of Nazis is, of course, also deeply-rooted for Joel, who was born to two Jewish parents.
His paternal grandfather, textile merchant Karl Amson Joel, faced discrimination after opening his company in 1928. Though it grew to be the second-largest mail-order fabric business in Germany, the rise of Nazism required him to put a sign in his window declaring the business was owned by a Jew.
This opened him up to attacks. According to a history printed in the Daily News, the elder Joel was dragged in newspapers, with one reading: ‘The owner is a full-blooded Yid… He uses his prophets in a typical Jewish way. He organizes bouts during which he is supplied with German girls and women.’
Joel eventually had to sell it to a Nazi party member for a fraction of its worth. He and his wife (and Joel’s father) then fled to Switzerland in 1938, after which the Nazi party member forcefully moved into their furnished house in Nuremberg.
On Kristallnacht later that year, the synagogue where Billy’s father was Bar Mitzvahed was burned. The Joels eventually moved to American (by way of Cuba, due to immigration quotas) and settled in New York.