Elton John has been given the Legacy Award at the 2024 Attitude Awards, and taken aim at Elon Musk in his acceptance speech.
The 2024 edition of the ceremony took place in London last night (October 9), and saw Sir Elton presented with the prestigious award by Ed Sheeran. He was also joined backstage by Vanessa Williams and Matt Henry – two stars of the upcoming The Devil Wears Prada musical, which the ‘Rocketman’ singer has provided original music for.
With the victory, Sir Elton became only the second person ever to receive the Attitude Legacy Award. The first of which was collected by Prince Harry in 2018, and it celebrated his late mother Princess Diana for her allyship and her efforts in changing the perception of HIV in the ‘80s.
Taking to the stage to accept his trophy last night, the singer, songwriter and pianist said he was “honoured” by the award. He also used his acceptance speech to recall how he “loves being gay”, and took aim at Musk.
“It’s been a long journey for me, with lots of ups and downs, and finally, peace of mind,” he began (via Attitude). “Music saved me – when I was happy, and when I was miserable.”
Recalling how he went on to create his non-profit organisation, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, he said that he was inspired after watching “everyone else march and do so much for people who were being ignored in the USA and around the world”.
Sir Elton John (L) and Ed Sheeran pose in the winners room at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards 2024. CREDIT: Dave Benett/Getty Images
“Instead of going out playing concerts, I delivered meals and saw what the real world was like. The EJAF became the real focus of my life. It gave me so much joy, so much pleasure, to honour all the people we lost in the 1980s,” he continued. “It’s still going strong. Now, my husband David is the CEO and chairman of the foundation, and so far, we’ve raised $600million dollars.
“I’m so happy to be a gay man. I love my husband, my children – I have benefits as a gay man I never thought I’d be able to have. It’s been the most incredible success,” he added. “We’re very lucky to live in a country that gives us the rights we have. But there are still people who don’t have those rights, and I intend to fight for those rights until the day I die.”
After being given the trophy – which comes in the shape of the letter ‘A’ – Sir Elton concluded: “Is this the award? What does ‘A’ stand for? ‘Arsehole’ comes to mind… but let’s not talk about Elon Musk tonight – let’s have a good time!”
While he didn’t elaborate more on why he feels that way about Musk, the comments do come after the pop icon announced that he was quitting Twitter in 2022, shortly after Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform. In his announcement, he cited changes in the social media platform’s policy allowing “misinformation to flourish unchecked”, as his reason for the departure.
After Musk bought the company, a spike in hate speech on the site was reported.
Elon Musk attends the men’s final on day fourteen of the 2024 US Open Tennis Championships. CREDIT: Jean Catuffe/GC Images
Other winners at the Attitude Awards last night included 2024’s Eurovision Song Contest winner, Nemo, who was given the Person of the Year award. Similarly, former Eurovision champion Lulu – who represented the UK in 1969 – won the Honorary Gay Award.
In other Elton John news, the artist recently told fans “there’s not much of me left” following multiple surgeries due to health issues. Speaking at the premiere of his upcoming career-spanning documentary Elton John: Never Too Late, he said: “I don’t have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix. I don’t have a prostate, I don’t have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee… In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. But I’m still here.”
The film is due to premiere on Disney+ on December 13 worldwide, and will reportedly “pull back the curtain” on the singer’s life, featuring “never-before-seen concert footage of him over the past 50 years, as well as hand-written journals and present-day footage of him and his family.”
As for Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur has also been criticised by other famous faces recently. Last month, Actor Marlon Wayans criticised Tesla and X/Twitter CEO for disowning his transgender daughter, Vivian Wilson, and Paramore’s Hayley Williams responded to Musk hitting out at her anti-Donald Trump speech.
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