Former husband and wife BILLY JOEL and CHRISTIE BRINKLEY have joined forces to refute a newspaper’s “vicious lies” about their daughter ALEXA RAY, who is suffering a “devastating heartbreak”.

The Piano Man and his supermodel ex have blasted a U.S. report that alleges the 23 year old “tried to kill herself” with pills after a “dysfunctional” trip with her mum spent arguing about Joel.

The couple insists the article is filled with lies intended to drag them down and they’re urging fans and other media outlets to ignore it as their daughter recovers.

In a joint statement released to Access Hollywood, they said, “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 8th, 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 legitimising these false reports.”

Singer/songwriter Alexa Ray was admitted to St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York on Saturday (05Dec09) suffering from breathing problems after allegedly overdosing on homeopathic medication Traumeel.

(IANS-WENN)