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“We’re going to back down,” the pop superstar warned, lamenting the relief of L. G. B. T. Q. rights in the United States, adding Florida.
By Maya Salam
British pop superstar Elton John lamented the “rising tide of anger and homophobia” in the United States and described several recently passed laws in Florida protecting LGBTQ rights as “shameful. “
“Everything is pear-shaped in America,” John, a longtime leader on gay rights and visibility, said in an interview published Tuesday in the Radio Times, noting a backlog of violent incidents and a recent law restricting rights.
More than 520 such laws have been introduced in more than 40 states this year, a record, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group for the organization L. G. B. T. Q.
“I don’t like it at all,” John said, referring to the hostile climate. “It’s a rising tide of anger and homophobia sweeping America. “
John, 76, will headline Glastonbury, Britain’s biggest music festival, on Sunday when his final full-length tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road, heads to its peak in Stockholm on July 8. The tour, which has had more than 330 dates, began in 2018 but was cut short by the pandemic and John’s hip surgery.
As he prepared to perform at Glastonbury, the last British date of the tour, John said he did not know if the rise of anti-L. G. B. T. Q. sentiment was on the rise. it is also widespread in Britain. ” I don’t know if it’s because of Britain, because I haven’t been there often,” he said.
But he called the scandal surrounding prominent British news anchor Phillip Schofield, who recently quit after admitting to dating a younger boy, “totally homophobic. “
“If it’s directly a guy on a date with a young woman, it wouldn’t even make headlines,” John said.
In the Radio Times interview, John said he might eventually be able to do a residency after his farewell excursion ends, “but not in America. “According to her representatives, it is for the same reason she avoids filming: she needs to spend more time with her husband and children, who live in Britain.
Last year, John, who objected to his songs being played at rallies for former President Donald J. Trump, led in the Biden White House. ” I just wish America would be more bipartisan,” John said as he sat down at the piano. Following his presentation, President Biden awarded John the National Humanities Medal.
Maya Salam is an editor in the Culture bureau of The New York Times. He is passionate about pop culture and television. Previously, she was a gender reporter and breaking reporter for The Times. Learn more about Maya Salam
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