Elton John: Vladimir Putin Called Me

Elton John yesterday claimed that Russian president Vladimir Putin telephoned him after Elton called for a sit-down over Russia’s anti-gay policies. Elton wrote on Instagram: “Thank-you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today. I look to forward to meeting with you face-to-face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia.” Buzzfeed has more:

The post left many confused and wondering if Sir Elton was having a bit of fun with us all, what with Putin’s enacting anti-LGBT policies, like the “anti-gay propaganda law,” and his seeming general disdain of LGBT people. But no, Sir Elton’s publicist confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the call actually did take place, though details were scant. “All I know at this point is that Putin called Elton,” Fran Curtis wrote in an email. The phone call comes days after Sir Elton met with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko during a forum in Kiev, where he told Ukraine’s business and political leaders to be more accepting of LGBT citizens. The next day, Sir Elton told the BBC that he wished that he could have a chat with Putin about Russia’s stance on gay rights.

This morning the Kremlin reportedly said that no meeting between Putin and Elton is planned. Via the Hollywood Reporter:

“We are aware [of John’s intention to have a meeting] from media reports, but we haven’t received any signals directly from Sir Elton John,” Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, was quoted as saying by Russian news agency TASS. “Given that there have been many insinuations in the media lately, we are treating information of that kind carefully.” Observers interpreted the comments as diplomatic jargon for saying the president wouldn’t meet the singer. Speaking during a visit to Ukraine, John said that he would welcome such a discussion even though Putin “may laugh behind my back” or “call me an absolute idiot, but at least I can have a conscience and say I tried.”