Elton John tells Prince Harry and Meghan Markle how he attends Alcoholics Anonymous over Zoom
Elton John spoke about attending AA meetings via Zoom (Getty)
Sir Elton John has spoken about attending virtual Alcoholics Anonymous meetings during the pandemic in a podcast interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The singer and gay icon reflected on the pandemic hitting while he was in the middle of his years-long Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, intended to mark his retirement from live music.
He told the couple’s Archewell podcast: “We were in the middle of a tour and then COVID started, and we came back to England in May. It was very strange because we were going full pelt, and all of a sudden it ground to a halt.
“I’m 73 year old and I’m a semi-diabetic, so I’m in a risky area there, I have an underlying condition as they say. I’ve seen my immediate family, Zachary, Elijah and David, all the time.
“But my relatives, who I love, I haven’t been able to see much of them at all. I’ve only been able to stay connected to them by phone and by Zoom.”
Elton John: Zoom has helped me stay in touch with AA
Sir Elton added that Zoom had also helped him stay connected to his Alcoholics Anonymous group.
He said: “I’m a recovering alcoholic, so I have an AA meeting from this house every Sunday. I connect with my friends who I’ve known for about 30 years in the programme, and that’s great.
“If it hadn’t been for Zoom, I don’t know what we would have done. It’s been a life-saver.”
Sir Elton John had to cut his tour short (Getty/Kevin Winter)
Singer is ‘grateful’ for his devoted husband and two sons
Earlier this month, Elton John and his husband David Furnish celebrated the 15th anniversary of their legal union.
“I can’t believe that 15 years has passed since Elton John and I celebrated our civil partnership in Britain,” Furnish, 58, reflected on Instagram.
“What a wonderful day that was. Six years ago, we renewed our vows and got legally married in front of our two beautiful sons.
“This type of civil progress was unimaginable when I was growing up.
“Yet despite all this extraordinary positive change, I remind myself that it’s still illegal to be LGBT+ in 70 countries, and that you can be given the death penalty in 12 of those same countries.”
John wrote: “Our relationship gets stronger every day, and I am extremely grateful for the love we share and our two beautiful sons.
“However, we are the lucky ones, as millions of gay people throughout the world are discriminated against because of their sexuality. This is a disgrace.
“We all deserve to love who we want. We will continue to fight for equality for all.”
