Elton John has claimed that the response to Phillip Schofield’s secret affair with a younger colleague was “totally homophobic”.
The comments come in light of the television host’s recent departure from the ITV daytime show This Morning, after he admitted to having an affair with a much younger male colleague.
Schofield, 61, was a host on the show since 2002, and quit last month after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a male runner. In the time since the affair came to light, the TV personality has faced immense scrutiny from numerous news outlets and the public.
Now, Sir Elton has spoken out against the response that people have had towards Schofield in a new interview with Radio Times, and suggested that the reaction would be much different if he was straight.
“I feel that the Phillip Schofield thing has been totally homophobic,” he said in the discussion. “If it was a straight guy in a fling with a young woman, it wouldn’t even make the papers.”
Schofield previously reiterated a similar statement during an interview with the BBC — alleging that there was an element of homophobia in the criticism he faced.
“It’s accepted by Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s not accepted if it’s in the gay world,” he claimed (via Sky News), referring to the numerous relationships the Wolf Of Wall Street actor has had with significantly younger women.
Elsewhere in the interview with Radio Times, the ‘Candle In The Wind’ singer also proceeded to denounce the status of LGBT+ rights and individuals in America, and compared the treatment the former This Morning figure has faced to the “disgraceful” circumstances in the US.
“It’s all going pear-shaped in America. There’s violence, [discriminatory] laws enacted in Florida, which are disgraceful,” he asserted, referring to the recent legislation introduced by Governor Ron DeSantis, which bans teachers from giving lessons about sexual orientation and permitting doctors to deny treatments to LGBTQ+ patients.
The 76-year-old music icon also claimed that hatred towards the community was rapidly expanding, and spreading around society “like a virus”.
His recent comments come just days before he is set to take to the stage at this year’s Glastonbury festival, which he will headline on Sunday (June 25). Other headliners for the 2023 instalment include Arctic Monkeys and Guns N’ Roses.