Scandal!

Billy Joel says he had a good reason for pulling the plug on his autobiography in 2011 -- his publisher just wanted to hype his scandals.

Billy was supposed to publish The Book of Joel in 2011, but he cancelled the project and returned his advance. At the time, he explained that he was not a "a kiss-and-tell kinda guy." And now he's being even more specific, saying, "When I saw the publishing company hyping it as ‘all about his drinking, his divorce and his depression,’ I said, ‘Nah, I don’t want to do this. Here’s the money back.’”