Phillip Schofield affair response was ‘completely homophobic’, says Sir Elton John
Sir Elton John has stated the response to Phillip Schofield’s secret affair with a youthful colleague was “totally homophobic”.
The 76-year-old singer claimed a heterosexual relationship with the same age hole wouldn’t have attracted such adverse media protection.
“I really feel that the Phillip Schofield factor has been completely homophobic,” he instructed the Radio Times.
“If it was a straight guy in a fling with a young woman, it wouldn’t even make the papers.”
Schofield fallout defined
Schofield, 61, departed ITV programme This Morning final month after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a youthful male colleague, which he had lied about for years.
The fallout noticed ITV announce an external review, and executives on the broadcaster have been referred to as to give evidence in parliament about claims of a “toxic” workplace.
Schofield apologised in a press release on social media and through subsequent interviews with The Sun and the BBC, saying he had “lost everything” whereas additionally alleging homophobia had motivated the criticism of him.
“It’s accepted by Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s not accepted if it’s in the gay world,” he claimed.
LGBTQ+ rights campaigner Peter Tatchell and actor Rupert Everett additionally criticised the response to the affair.
Tatchell stated it had “more than a whiff of homophobia”, whereas Everett described it as “insane”.
Read extra:
ITV questioning as it happened
What we learned from Philip Schofield’s interviews
Schofield: ‘Do you need me to die?’
Sir Elton’s feedback got here as he denounced the remedy of LGBTQ+ folks within the US as “disgraceful”.
“It’s all going pear-shaped in America,” stated the Rocketman performer.
“There’s violence, (discriminatory) legal guidelines enacted in Florida, that are disgraceful.”
Among the laws launched by Governor Ron DeSantis are school teachers being banned from giving lessons about sexual orientation, and docs being given permission to disclaim therapies to LGBTQ+ sufferers.
Sir Elton stated hate in direction of his group was spreading “like a virus”.
His interview with the Radio Times comes forward of his performance at Glastonbury this weekend.
The I’m Still Standing star will headline the competition’s Pyramid Stage on 25 June.