Elton John has expressed concerns about doing concerts in the US due to rising homophobia. He is scheduled to perform at the Glastonbury Festival in the coming days. In an interview with Radio Times, he spoke about his worries and stated:
“It’s all going pear-shaped in America. There’s violence, [discriminatory] laws enacted in Florida, which are disgraceful. There’s a law now that, if you visit a doctor in Florida, they can refuse to treat you if you’re gay, which I find just unbelievable. We seem to be going backwards. And that spreads. It’s like a virus that the LGBTQ+ movement is suffering.”
The singer continued by expressing his dissatisfaction with the situation, which he believed also applied to Britain:
“I don’t like it at all. It’s a growing swell of anger and homophobia that’s around America. I don’t know if it’s around Britain, because I haven’t been here that much. But I feel that the Phillip Schofield thing has been totally homophobic. If it was a straight guy in a fling with a young woman, it wouldn’t even make the papers.”
In addition to his debut performance at Glastonbury, Elton John is now on his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.” Due to the pandemic and his hip ailment, the tour has been delayed several times since it started seven years ago. But on July 8, everything will finally come to a conclusion in Stockholm.
On the other hand, the artist made it clear that following his final performance, he will continue playing live sometimes. He indicated that the US was not among his potential destinations.
“I said when I announced the farewell tour that maybe I would do a residency like Kate Bush did at Hammersmith [Apollo in 2014], but not in America. I will not do it in America.”
You can read more about Rocket Man’s statements here.
