Alexa Ray Joel gained unwanted media attention when she was rushed to a Manhattan hospital after a suicide attempt, prompting parents Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley to issue this statement in her defense:

Every parent can imagine the pain and anguish we face as parents of a daughter who is working to recover from the dangerous actions she took while suffering a devastating heartbreak. As much as we hate dignifying tabloid stories with a response, we feel we must set the record straight to protect our family.

The story that ran in the New York Post on December 8, and has been subsequently spread across the Internet, is filled with vicious lies and attempts to smear our character and that of our beloved daughter. We ask the public and legitimate media outlets to please “consider the source” and to not further exacerbate our daughter’s situation by repeating and legitimizing these false reports.

With much appreciation,

Billy Joel & Christie Brinkley

Alexa Ray Joel, 23, was taken to St. Vincent’s Medical Center after paramedics responded about 12:30 p.m. to a 911 call from her West Village apartment, a police source said.

Alexa swallowed an unknown quantity of sleeping pills. She has only recently broken up with a boyfriend. The police are considering a suicide attempt.

Billy Joel is a six-time Grammy Award winner and is known for his hit singles “We didn’t start the fire” and “Uptown girl”. Christie Brinkley is a supermodel, best known for her three appearances on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in the late 1970s and early 1980s.