Elton John is denouncing anti-LGBTQ legislation being introduced across the United States, saying there’s a “growing well of anger and homophobia that’s around America.”
“I don’t like it at all,” the “Rocket Man” singer said in an interview with Radio Times published this week and cited by multiple outlets.
“It’s all going pear-shaped in America,” the 76-year-old performer and longtime LGBTQ rights advocate said, calling “laws enacted” in Florida “disgraceful.”
“We seem to be going backwards,” said John, who received the National Humanities Medal from President Biden last year. “And that spreads. It’s like a virus that the LGBTQ+ movement is suffering.”
More than 490 bills targeting LGBTQ Americans have been introduced in at least 45 states this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Fifty-seven of those bills have become law, the ACLU said.
Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed four LGBTQ-related bills, including legislation that bans gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths and expands a state education law that limits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.