Sir Elton John has come out in defence of Phillip Schofield and said the backlash from his affair is due to homophobia.
In a new interview ahead of his Glastonbury performance, the Rocketman singer, 76, claimed a heterosexual relationship with a similar age gap would not have attracted such negative coverage. This comes after Phillip, 61, resigned from This Morning before later admitting to the affair with a younger colleague and cutting all ties with ITV.
Sir Elton made the comments as he condemned anti-LGBTQ+ laws in America and made reference to the treatment of Phillip in the UK. Speaking to Radio Times, the singer said: "Well, it's all going pear-shaped in America. There's violence, (discriminatory) laws enacted in Florida, which are disgraceful."
He continued: "There's a law now that, if you visit a doctor in Florida, they can refuse to treat you if you're gay, which I find just unbelievable. We seem to be going backwards. And that spreads. It's like a virus that the LGBTQ+ movement is suffering."
He added: "I don't like it at all. It's a growing swell of anger and homophobia that's around America. I don't know if it's around Britain because I haven't been here that much, but I feel that the Phillip Schofield thing has been totally homophobic.
"If it was a straight guy in a fling with a young woman, it wouldn't even make the papers."
This comes after Phillip resigned from ITV last month and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger male runner on This Morning.
During an interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan, the 61-year-old said he had "lost everything" after admitting to the affair, and that the fallout had had a "catastrophic effect" on his mind.
The ex This Morning presenter said: "Attraction is attraction. It's no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world.
"There shouldn't be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in. We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school (he attended). So, yeah, there's a difference. It's accepted by Leonardo DiCaprio, it's not accepted if it's in the gay world."
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