Are Bill Burr and Billy Corgan related? Comedian and singer meet

On January 22, 2025By Littum

Bill Burr’s latest podcast appearance turned into an unexpected (alleged) family reunion.

When the comedian, 56, was a guest in Tuesday’s episode of the “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcasta surprise special guest dropped in: Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Billy Corgan, 57, who has previously theorized that he and Burr may be half-brothers.

Corgan revealed on “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” in November that his stepmother told him about 10 years ago that she believes Burr “might be one of those kids that your father fathered in his days as a traveling musician.”

“My dad once told me I had a half-brother named Bill who was born around the same time as me,” Corgan said. He insisted at the time that he wasn’t joking, though he clarified that after sitting on it, he doesn’t actually think they’re related.

So during Mandel’s Tuesday interview with Burr, the “America’s Got Talent” judge revealed he had planned a surprise and brought out Corgan. The moment the musician entered, Burr swore at Mandel and expressed frustration at the situation, albeit in a playful manner.

“Did you ever think that the fact that I never told that story that maybe you shouldn’t?” Burr jokingly asked Corgan, who expressed surprise that Burr didn’t realize he was coming.

The comedian laughed when he asked Corgan why he felt the “need” to float the idea that they might be related, before roasting him for being a Chicago Cubs fan. Burr later clarified that he wasn’t mad at Corgan, but he jokingly tore into Mandel for setting up the meeting for “assessments,” calling it “rude” and saying that a podcast was not the right place for them to meet.

“What was going to happen? Shall we go out and play catch?” Burr laughed. “We’re both in our 50s.” He went on to add, “At some point we’re going to hang out. I’m not thinking about a podcast.”

Mandel eventually left the room so the two could have a conversation alone while emotional piano music played throughout. With the host gone, Burr asked Corgan about his “relationship with dad”, which the Smashing Pumpkins star described as “difficult”.

“At some point it became funny to me that he had multiple families,” Burr said, noting that “my dad told us he was a dentist” and “didn’t do the whole musician thing.”

Although it appears that the two were just playing along with the idea that they were related throughout the conversation, Burr acted like he was convinced by the end of the interview, definitively declaring that “we have the same sheep.”

Still, Corgan jokingly suggested, “The fact that he said he can’t sing, I think it kind of disproves that we’re related.”

Burr and Corgan aren’t the only stars who may or may not be secretly half-brothers. In 2023, Matthew McConaughey revealed on Kelly Ripa’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera” podcast that there is a possibility that he and Woody Harrelson may have the same father. “His dad was on leave at the same time my mom and dad were going through their second divorce,” he explained.

But McConaughey said he is hesitant to get a DNA test to confirm it.

“It’s a little easier for (Harrelson) to say, ‘Come on, let’s do it!’ because what’s in it for him?” he said. “It’s a little harder for me because he’s asking me to take a chance and say, ‘Wait a minute. You’re telling me my dad might not be my dad after 53 years of believing it?’

Burr’s latest comedy special, “Drop Dead Years,” hits Hulu on March 14. He’s set to team up with comedian Shane Gillis for “A Night of Comedy to Benefit Those Affected by the LA Fires” on Monday in Los Angeles with proceeds going to the Wildfire Relief Fund.

Cast: Charles Trepany