Sir Elton John raises more than $3.9m for the Elton John Aids Foundation at their annual gala
The singer also spoke out about the recent attacks on the transgender community
By Steve Brown
Sir Elton John has raised $3.9 million for the Elton John Aids Foundation at the annual gala.
During the evening, the singer – who is currently on his farewell tour – revealed they had raised the whopping amount of money which is the equivalent of nearly £3million and urged people to “come together”.
He said: “There should be no difference between the colour of your skin, the religion you choose or your political party.
“We have to come together and embrace each other. We started off on the kitchen table in Atlanta, and we’ve grown to where we are today.
“We’ve raised over $430 million worldwide. We’ve been responsible with matching funds worldwide over a billion dollars.
“That’s pretty amazing for a small organisation like us and we’ve survived.
“Our motto is, ‘No one gets left behind’ and if you leave people behind, you’re never gonna win.”
He also spoke out about the recent attacks on the transgender community and said they have their own rights.
John added: “That doesn’t sit very well with me because people should have any right they want.
“People who want to be transgender should have their own rights.”
John’s husband David Furnish also drew on comparisons to the discrimination in the early days of the Aids epidemic.
He added: “We like everybody to be treated with kindness and compassion. You have to bring everybody along for the ride.”
John also paid homage to Aretha Franklin who made her final public performance at the foundation’s gala last year before sadly passing away this year.
He said: “I was shocked to see how thin she was, and she just smiled her sweet smile at me and said, ‘I didn’t want to let you down’.
“Artists like that don’t come around that often. They are dying out, and it’s such a shame because there’s no one to replace them.”