In a shocking revelation, Sir Elton John told fans that he "lost his eyesight and can't see the stage" during a live appearance over the weekend. The 77-year-old music icon was introducing the West End show 'The Devil Wears Prada', with Vanessa Williams in the lead, when he made the startling admission.
Supporters were swift to pour in love and support for the 'Rocket Man' legend after his onstage announcement in London, which saw him backed by husband David Furnish. Despite a series of health struggles in recent times, the resilient superstar has been open about his various ailments.
In a heartfelt post from October on social media, Elton confessed: "To be honest with you, there's not much of me left. I don't have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix. I don't have a prostate. I don't have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee. In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. But I'm still here."
Elton's battle with vision loss took the spotlight as he shared in September on Instagram about his fight with a severe eye infection caught while enjoying a break in the South of France. The infection unfortunately led to significant vision loss in one eye, and although he is on the mend, recovery is slow and it will take some time before his sight is fully restored in the affected eye.
The beloved performer expressed heartfelt gratitude, stating: "I am so grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me over the last several weeks. I have been quietly spending the summer recuperating at home, and am feeling positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery thus far. With love and gratitude.", reports the Mirror.
In a recent candid reveal to his audience, the star shared his personal struggles: "I've lost my eyesight and cannot see the stage."
He divulged more about his condition with touching honesty: "As some of you may know I have had issues and now I have lost my sight. I haven't been able to see the performance but I have enjoyed it. To my husband who's been my rock because I haven't been able to come to many of the previews... it's hard for me to see it but I love to hear it and it sounded good tonight OK. Thank you for coming!" The news followed a previous health scare when Elton was sidelined by appendicitis in 2013. Despite making "superhuman efforts" to continue performing, his representative announced: "Elton is incredibly disappointed to postpone these tour dates. To know that he made such superhuman efforts and continued to perform to thousands through his illness only confirms his dedication to his European fans".
Emphasising his determination, the statement added: "He is eager to be back on top form and return to play the remaining shows starting in early September 2013."
After his appendectomy in July of that year, Elton faced his health battles head-on while also dealing with diabetes.
Elton, a father of two, was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in the early 2000s. The star recently confessed to making a significant change to his diet to manage his blood sugar levels, admitting it had been a "long time" since he'd indulged in a sweet treat.
On Lady Ruth Rogers' Ruthie's Table 4 podcast, he revealed: "I can have an apple, I can eat a bit of melon. As long as you're sensible about it, it doesn't shoot your blood sugar up. But what I crave is chocolate and ice cream, I can't have any ice cream."
He added: "If I had a death row meal, it wouldn't contain anything except sweets, because I can't eat them now. So, I'd have ice cream, donuts, apple pie, rhubarb crumble."
In 2017, Elton was diagnosed with prostate cancer and chose surgery over chemotherapy, not wanting the disease "hanging over" his family. However, after the cancer treatment, the Sacrifice singer developed an infection that he said brought him "24 hours from death".
In his memoir, Me, Elton wrote that the surgery in Los Angeles was a "complete success", but he noticed something was off 10 days later. "It turned out that I had a rare complication from the operation."
After spending 11 days in a London hospital, he recalled lying awake at night "wondering if I was going to die," Elton further shared: "In the hospital, alone at the dead of night, I'd prayed: please don't let me die, please let me see my kids again, please give me a little longer."
Hip surgery followed. Elton had to push back his 2021 Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour dates due to a painful hip injury from a tumble. The legendary singer shared, "despite intensive physio and specialist treatment, the pain has continued to get worse and is leading to increasing difficulties moving."
He also mentioned, "I have been advised to have an operation as soon as possible to get me back to full fitness and make sure there are no long-term complications."
After surgery and COVID-19 setbacks, Elton didn't manage to make his stage comeback until 2023.
English (US) ·