Be proud who you are, says Elton John

June 26, 2020

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  Photo Credit: LA Times

  This month of June, Pride month for the members of the LGBTQIA+ community, we shall come up with a culmination acknowledging the success and contribution of LGBTQIA+ artists and Elton John is now the subject.

  John told his story to Variety before the world premiere of the “Rocketman” in 2019.

  Elton John is already 73 years old this year and his career, despite looming retirement, continues to flourish and inspire people most especially the members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

  From his own childhood, he shared that his father left the family and his mother was kind of a cold and distant. He was told by his mother that he cannot be truly loved because he was gay.

  The struggles of people about their sexuality or gender identity is not new to Elton John. He was 23 when he realized that he was gay. The singer, who happened to become an international superstar, was 29 years old in 1976 when he told the Rolling Stone that he was bisexual. He felt comfortability on being gay just in 1992 when he was 45.

  In a memoir, he once said, “It’s wonderful to be gay. I love being gay. I really do. And I think I wouldn’t have had the life I’ve had if I hadn’t been gay. And I’m very proud of that. I’m very proud that I can appreciate that.”

   In his 50 years existence in the music scene, he already earned an Oscar, a Tony, multiple Grammys and now he is in the middle of his retirement tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road, which happened to be suspended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Another remarkable thing done by the legendary singer-songwriter-pianist was teaming up with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder in 1986 to make “That’s What Friends Are For” track for the AIDS research of the American Foundation. He has been outspoken activist on the grounds of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

  His message for the young people who remain struggling on their sexuality ang gender equality: “Be proud of who you are. There are so many wonderful diverse people in the world — straight people, gay people [and] transgender people. We’re all God’s kids.”

  Elton John has been married with his husband, producer David Furnish, for 27 years. They were one of the numerous couples to reach civil union in the United Kingdom. They have two sons, Zachary Jackson Levon, 9, and Elijah Joseph Daniel, 7.

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