Elton John confirms he has lost his sight in emotional speech

Sir Elton John has confirmed he has lost his sight in a moving speech at a West End charity gala night for The Devil Wears Prada musical.

John, 77, who penned the music for the new show, took to the stage with husband David Furnish to address the crowd as reported by the Daily Mail. “As some of you may know, I have had issues, and now I’ve lost my sight,” he explained. “I haven’t been able to see the performance, but I have enjoyed it.”

The singer went on to say: “To my husband, who’s been my rock, because I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews because, as you know, I have lost my eyesight. But I love to hear it, and boy it sounded good tonight. Thank you for coming.”

“It’s never fortunate for anything like this to happen, and it kind of floored me” – Elton John

Last month, the ‘Rocket Man’ singer first revealed he was struggling with his eyesight in an interview with Good Morning America promoting his new Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late.

“I unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye in July, because I had an infection in the south of France. It’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see,” he said at the time. “My left eye is not the greatest. There’s hope and encouragement that it will be OK, but I’m kind of stuck in the moment.”

He also explained that the issues with his sight cast serious doubt over the future of his recording career. “I can do something like this [an interview]… but going into the studio and recording, I don’t know. I can’t see a lyric, for a start. We’re taking an initiative to try and get it better. But, at the moment, that’s really what we’re concentrating on.”

“It’s never fortunate for anything like this to happen, and it kind of floored me. I can’t see anything. I can’t read anything. I can’t watch anything,” he elaborated.

The Devil Wears Prada has just opened in London’s West End at the Dominion Theatre. In the new show, Ugly Betty star Vanessa Williams plays Miranda Priestly, the role originally made famous by Meryl Streep in the 2006 film of the same name. 

Elton John currently appears on the cover of the latest issue of Attitude. In an exclusive interview, the music legend chatted about everything from his hedonistic early years clubbing to the decision to stop touring after his 2023 Glastonbury performance.

He also spoke about the joy of being gay and coming out publicly saying: “It was like a freedom for me. There wasn’t any big guilt on my shoulders saying, ‘I’m gay, I can’t come out.’ I was enjoying being gay and I’ve always enjoyed it since I came out the closet. I love being gay. I can’t tell you how much I love it.”

The issue is available for purchase now from here.