As his farewell tour wraps up, pop singer Elton John said he has no plans to perform again in the United States due to the country’s “growing swell of anger and homophobia.”
That’s according to what the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” musician said in an interview he gave Radio Times, where he noted what he described as a growing number of anti-grooming laws being passed in states, including Florida, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, North Dakota, and South Dakota. He specifically singled out Florida’s laws, calling them “disgraceful.”
John, 76, who has been a fixture in the cultural lives of both Brits and Americans since the 1970s with his string of top 10 hits, which are still played over the radio airwaves today, had plenty to say on the topic.
“It’s all going pear-shaped in America,” John told Radio Times, as written about in a piece in The New York Times. “We seem to be going backwards. And that spreads. It’s like a virus that the LGBTQ+ movement is suffering.”
In March 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1557, Parental Rights in Education, which is described to be designed to reinforce parents’ fundamental rights to make decisions regarding the upbringing of their children. HB 1557 prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade while prohibiting instruction that is not age appropriate for students. It also requires school districts to adopt procedures for notifying parents if there is a change in the school’s services regarding a child’s mental, emotional, and physical health or well-being.
Florida’s Senate Bill 1580, Protections of Medical Conscience, was also signed into law by DeSantis on May 11 and will go into effect July 1. The bill provides that health care providers and payers have the right to opt out of participation in or payment for certain health care services on the basis of conscience-based objections.
While John is currently closing out his farewell tour in Europe, he will headline Glastonbury, Britain’s largest music festival this Sunday before he heads to Stockholm in July. The Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, which will have had over 330 dates, began in 2018 but had some interruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic and a hip surgery that John had to undergo.
His last show in the United States was held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles last year. The venue was particularly moving for John because it was the setting for his 1975 breakout stadium concerts.
“Tonight is a very special night, a very emotional night for me,” the singer told the crowd during that performance. “It’s been a long journey.” He also thanked the audience.
“You made me. Without America, I wouldn’t be here,” said John. “Thank you for all the years of love and generosity. I wish you health and love, and prosperity.”
In his recent interview with Radio Times, John said he might consider doing a residency once his farewell tour concludes, but that it wouldn’t include the United States. According to representatives for John, his reason for that is the same one behind his decision to stop touring—that he wants to spend more time with his husband and children in Britain.