Following the international premiere of a documentary about his life, Elton John broke down in tears and emphasised to the audience the value of family over fame.
The British singer’s appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival marked his first public appearance since he announced a severe eye infection left him partially blind.
Elton attended the premiere of his film Elton John: Never Too Late with his husband, David Furnish.
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The documentary Elton John: Never Too Late, which is directed by RJ Cutler and John’s spouse, David Furnish, examines the artist’s multi-decade career.
The documentary also showcased footage of him getting ready for his farewell performance in Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium.
It also chronicles his romance with David, a Canadian filmmaker who married the singer in 2014.
They share two children, Zachary and Elijah.
@iheartradioca “But for me tonight is all about my husband” 🥹 @Elton John on his husband @David Furnish at the world premiere of his film Elton John: Never Too Late at @TIFF #tiff #eltonjohn #davidfurnish #film #toronto #music ♬ original sound – iHeartRadio Canada
After the film was screened, Elton became overwhelmed with emotion, telling the audience: “The thing I love about this movie is that I have him (Furnish) and I have my two sons.”
“I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved,” he said, pausing to hold back his tears.
“And I will hope to keep making music, but I want to be at home with them and see them and treasure them.”
@iheartradioca @Elton John poked fun at his severe eye infection after the premiere of ‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ at @TIFF 😅👁️ #eltonjohn #tiff #davidfurnish #film #toronto #tiff2024 #tiff24 ♬ original sound – iHeartRadio Canada
“It’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever had in my life, more than having a first number one album on Billboard, yeah, that was really nice for about five minutes, but this is a lifetime.”
The singer also reportedly made a joke about his eye, telling the audience: “I’m having the best time of my life – except this f****** eye. I wish I could see you,” according to Variety.
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His appearance comes just after he made a shocking health announcement on Instagram.
He wrote to his almost five million Instagram followers, “Over the summer, I’ve been dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye.”
“I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye.”
“I am so grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me over the last several weeks.
“I have been quietly spending the summer recuperating at home and am feeling positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery thus far.”
Despite the news, John and his spouse David Furnish—who were both dressed in various colours of burgundy suits—looked happy as they pulled up to the Canadian event in a buggy.
