Elton John

Elton John didn’t mince words in slamming his fellow musicians for boycotting Arizona over the controversial SB 1070 immigration law. From the stage at his sold-out Tucson Arena concert Thursday night, John savored a few choice, not-so-family-friendly words:
“We are all very pleased to be playing in Arizona. I have read that some of the artists won’t come here. They are (expletive)wits! Let’s face it: I still play in California, and as a gay man I have no legal rights whatsoever. So what’s the (expletive) with these people?”
John has never been one to cave into political pressure from his musical colleagues. He ignored an artist boycott of Israel in June over the flotilla fiasco and played a show in Tel Aviv. He also played Rush Limbaugh’s latest wedding reception in early June, which drew the ire of gays and lesbians. Limbaugh is vehemently anti-gay marriage; John is married to his longtime partner David Furnish.
from The Arizona Daily Star

Elton John

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – A Georgia man who posted a video of himself on the Internet holding a sign that said “Elton John must die” has been arrested for making terroristic threats.
Neal Horsley, 65, was arrested early Wednesday in Carrollton, about 50 miles west of Atlanta, said Atlanta Police Sgt. Curtis Davenport. He would not say who Horsley is accused of threatening, but Horsley’s son, Nathan, said he thought the arrest was connected to the video about the musician.
In the video posted Feb. 28 on YouTube, Horsley held the sign in front of a building where he said John has a condo. John’s publicist, Fran Curtis, confirmed that John has an Atlanta apartment but declined further comment.
Horsley was upset that John, who is gay, told Parade magazine in an interview last month that he thought Jesus was a “compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.”
“What Elton John has done is desecrated the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, blasphemed the Lord Jesus Christ,” Horsley said in the video.
Horsley founded the Creator’s Rights Party and has declared himself a candidate in the 2010 governor’s race. He kicked off his campaign July 4, 2008 in downtown Carrollton, wearing a placard showing the head of an aborted fetus while singing an anti-abortion song.
The state ethics commission, which oversees election filings, has no record of Horsley’s campaign.
He previously gained notoriety in the late 1990s for his role in establishing a Web site that published the names and addresses of doctors who performed abortions. Planned Parenthood officials called the site a “hit list for terrorists.”
Fulton County jail records showed Horsley also faces charges of criminal defamation and disseminating terroristic threats over the Internet.
He was being held Thursday in the Fulton County jail on $40,000 bond. As conditions for his release, a judge said he must live with his son in a house with a phone landline and must pay 10 percent of his bond in cash.
Horsley’s son said his father doesn’t have an attorney.
from The Associated Press

Related Post : ‘Jesus Was A Compassionate, Super-Intelligent Gay Man’

Elton John

Elton John has never been a big fan of religion.
“Religion promotes hatred and spite against gays,” the openly gay performer told the Observer’s Music Monthly magazine in 2006. “From my point of view, I would ban religion completely.”
So it comes as a surprise that in Parade magazine this week, John claims that one of the central figures of Christianity is in fact a homosexual.
“I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems,” he tells Parade. “On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him.”
In the same breath, John renounces celebrity. The man who at the Grammys wore soot on his face and performed opposite the ultimate exhibitionist, Lady Gaga, says he is done with fame.
“Fame attracts lunatics,” he tells the magazine. “I never had a bodyguard, ever, until Gianni [Versace] died. I don’t like celebrity anymore.”
John made headlines at the beginning of the year when it was announced he staged an intervention to help designer Donatella Versace kick her drug habit. Prior to that he had revealed he was also supporting rapper Eminem in his fight against substance abuse.
from The New York Daily News

Elton John & David Furnish

Elton John & David Furnish have joined the producing team of Next Fall, the new American play by Geoffrey Nauffts and directed by Sheryl Kaller. Next Fall opens on Broadway on Thursday, March 11, 2010 with preview performances beginning Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at the Helen Hayes Theatre.
In a statement, Elton John & David Furnish said: “We are excited to join the team bringing Geoffrey Nauffts’ extraordinary play to Broadway. After fulfilling experiences bringing new musicals to the stage, it was seeing this inspiring and timely new work that attracted us to take on our first play. As we continue to collaborate together on the score for the new film Showstopper, we are thrilled to extend our working relationship with Geoffrey Nauffts and Anthony Barrile to the stage.”
Next Fall stars Patrick Breen as Adam, Maddie Corman as Holly, Sean Dugan as Brandon, Patrick Heusinger as Luke, Connie Ray as Arlene and Cotter Smith as Butch.
In addition to Elton John & David Furnish, Next Fall is produced on Broadway by Barbara Manocherian, Richard Willis, Tom Smedes, Carole L. Haber/Chase Mishkin Ostar, Anthony Barille, Michael Palitz, Bob Boyett, Roy Furman in association with Naked Angels (Geoffrey Nauffts, Artistic Director; John Alexander, Managing Director; Andy Donald, Associate Artistic Director; Brittany O’Neill, Producer). James Spry is an Associate Producer and Susan Mindell is the Executive Producer.
The creative team for Next Fall includes Wilson Chin (Set Design), Jeff Croiter (Lighting Design), John Gromada (Sound Design) and Jess Goldstein (Costume Design).
Next FallL had its world premiere in a Naked Angels production, opening to critical acclaim on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Next Fall played a sold-out run off-Broadway, extending three times, and played through August 8th.
Geoffrey Nauffts’ Next Fall takes a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment and unconditional love. While the play’s central story focuses on the 5-year relationship between Adam and Luke, Next Fall goes beyond a typical love story. This timely and compelling new American play forces us all to examine what it means to “believe” and what it might cost us not to.
from Broadway World