Sir Elton John: "Being the child of someone famous is a huge ball and chain"
The multi-platinum selling singer/songwriter fears that little Zachary will face homophobic abuse as he grows up
Sir Elton John may have found success and acceptance in his own life but he’s worried about the challenges his son Zachary will face as he grows up.
In an interview published in this week’s issue of Radio Times magazine, the singer/songwriter said: “Being the child of someone famous is a huge ball and chain around your ankles. It’s going to be very difficult.”
Perhaps even more so if that famous parent also happens to be gay and living in a solid civil partnership. Indeed, Sir Elton fears that Zachary will suffer taunting from other children once he starts school because he hasn’t got a mother.
“At school other children will say, ‘You don’t have a mummy,’” said the 65-year-old knight pianist. “We’ve come a long way, but there’s still homophobia and will be until a new generation of parents don’t instil it in their children.”
Zachary himself, though, is fine with his family arrangement, and Elton revealed that he is known as “Daddy” around the home while partner David Furnish is “Papa”.
And Sir Elton said that, despite wanting music to be a “huge part” of Zachary’s life, he’s not going to force his son to do anything he doesn’t want to do.
“I won’t push Zachary into anything,” said the Rocket Man singer. “So far he just loves kicking a ball and watching people cook.”
Read the full interview with Sir Elton, in which he discusses his being on the radio, the lives of pop’s best and brightest and the music he puts on Zachary’s iPod in this week’s Radio Times, which is on sale now priced £1.40.
