Washington (CNN) - Elton John is expressing a newfound fondness for someone most would see as a foe, Rush Limbaugh, the outspokenly anti-gay marriage radio personality. In the new issue of Rolling Stone, to be released Friday, John discusses the thaw between the two, who many would expect to have a lot to disagree over.
John explained his reaction when asked by Limbaugh to perform at his wedding, "I could not believe when I was asked to play. I thought it was a joke."
Limbaugh wed Kathryn Rogers in Florida on June 5, 2010 in a lavish Hawaiian-themed ceremony. Photos of the fete are still available on Limbaugh's official Facebook page. It is his fourth marriage.
He further discussed his motivation to continue an alliance with Limbaugh, hoping that the camaraderie between the two will eventually morph into support for gay rights.
"I had dialogue with him before and he said, 'I'm not anti-gay, I want you to come, bring David' (David Furnish, Elton John's partner of 12 years, with whom he legally entered a partnership during a civil ceremony in 2005 and with whom he has recently had a son by a surrogate).
"My goal is for Rush to say, 'I support civil partnerships,' and if I rang him right now, I think he might agree. He was one of the first people to congratulate us on the baby."
Elton John was reportedly paid one million dollars to perform at Rush Limbaugh's wedding. Later, in July 2010 Limbaugh made comments on his radio show that drew a distinction between his view on gay marriage and civil unions saying "Elton John is not married to David Furnish, and Elton John is not a supporter of gay marriage. Elton John is on the same page as I am, as is Obama on gay marriage. He's for civil unions, but he's not for marriage."
Elton John had spoken out on behalf of civil unions but recently appeared to go a step further. At an American Foundation for Equal Rights event, he stated "It seems so ridiculous I could be with my partner for 17 years and we have a son, and my partner and I can't get married."
From CNN Politics
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Wow CNN – there is a LOT of Politics in this story??????? This should have been on the ENTERTAINMENT or GOSSIP page!!
Well, I will turn it into a political theme by saying we should continue to support our current leader, President Obama, as he MOVES AMERICA FORWARD in order to WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Civil unions are the appropriate term for gay relationships. And so says the gay community.
4 marriages huh. What's so sacred and sanctimonious about that? These fascists want to deny people their rights, when the rights that they have, they don't even cherish. They're just a bunch of HATERS!!!
I think this is great! I truly believe that 9 times out of 10 when people are boisterous to the extreme in a public forum, they are far more civil one on one.
Rush is on his 4th marriage and then says that gays will ruin the sanctity of marriage.... Hey, why not outlaw divorce if you treasure and respect marriage so much?????????
4 marriages??? Way to 'protect the sanctity of marriage', and don't dare let a gay person have the same right. I suppose the other three marriages were not worth protecting?
Good to know. Now I know to boycott Sir Elton along with Limbaugh for their insistence that their own opinions on who should and shouldn't marry should be enshrined in law.
Rush doesn't believe half the things he says. He has said in the past that first and formost he is expected to say certain things just to get a reaction and ratings!
John = anything for a million. You are blind if you aren't seeing the big picture of Limbaugh's talk. The damage he incites.
They're two sides of the same coin when you think about it.
Kind of like Bono and the late Jess Helms on the need for third-world debt relief: a Liberal reaching across political differences to try to find common ground.
Conservatives could learn a lot from Liberal regarding being able to put what is good for our country and society ahead of scoring short-term political points.
Limbaugh is paid to support conservatives and republicans, and he gets paid very well to do it. If you actually believe he will change is on-air tune, you're fooling yourself, Mr. John. Actually, it's fair to say you're delusional.
Limbaugh is in it for money. I doubt he believes half of what he says to appease his audience. I don’t think Limbaugh is a fool since he can afford to pay a million for somebody to sing at his wedding. His listeners are a different story. The fact he hangs out with people they don’t like, does drugs and is on his fourth wife don’t seem to ring with his listeners and they don’t think they are being worked.
So Limbot is a hypocrite and presents to the public whatever false face is necessary to move his and his chosen parties' political agenda and make millions of dollars telling people what they want to hear? Shocker.
I wish people would focus on this as an issue rather than the blabk or white of pro or anti gay marriage. Marriage is a religious act much the same as a barmitzvah or a baptism. If people want legal rights to sharing of property, money, health benefits etc associated with a civil union-GREAT! That's exactly what everyone should be in favor of! Gay marriage is a different subject. Marriage is a term for the religious union of a man and a woman. They states should not have any authority over approving or denying that title, only the legal ramifications surrounding it. If you want to enter into a legal agreement with another person that gives you rights to each others assets and benefits, the state should allow it. If you want the title of "marriage" then take it up with your religious leaders.
It was a "joke", Elton. Limbaugh despises you and everybody like you. Just because he paid you a lot of money to sing at his wedding doesn't mean he wants to hold hands with you. He has actually put words in your mouth about your stand on gay marriage.
This is a bit surprising. I always figured that Limbaugh would go for Wagner opera instead and all it stands for. At least he seems to be civil when not bashing non-conservatives.
No Elton, you're the joke. i'm sure you made prenty of $ from rush so enjoy your money, but please spare us talk about how nice the old hate-monger is.
Marriage is a religious institution (ie. one man, one woman)- which the state should not be participating in. Why does religion get to influence tax law, employee and state benefits, and formal recognition of a union between two people?
The state should however, hand out civil union certificates (with equal benefits and protection) to everyone wishing to participate. Then if people want to take it a step further and "get married", they can talk to their churches about that.
I'm straight but not religious at all. So why is it necessary that a church based law determine that my boyfriend and I are able to tie the knot?
There u go again CNN. Nice propaganda on Rush's position on Gays. Rush, like Elton John are both against gay marriage. So are Obama and Hillary. Rush was never against gay rights. But if u read this article and constant disinformation on Rush you would think he was anit-gay.
There is a difference between being anit-gay and anti-gay marriage. Rush always advocated for equal rights of gays rights to adopt etc. Marriage has always been bet. a man and a woman. Even Elton John agrees with that premise and respects it. Too bad the media can't seem to understand that distinction. U would think you so call thinking liberals could understand.
Church and religion marry
The state does civil unions and should be recognized by private companies (insurance) with the same benefits as marriage.
The writer's quote referring to Rush as someone "most would consider a foe" is laughable. Who are these "most" people? Is it the overwhelming majority of Americans who consider themselves center-right? Nope, it can't be them. Or is it his millions of radio listeners, the largest radio audience in the country? Nope, them either. I think the "most" she refers to is really "a portion" of the 20% of the US population that actually consider themselves liberals. So by "most" she really means "a few".
Homosexuality is an abomination – but, hate the sin, love the sinner. If homosexuals would admit it, they can never procreate with each other – oral and anal sex is not the way God intended it. I have no doubt that many homosexuals are relatively "good people" – as are many pedophiles, abortionists, rapists – they have just made bad choices.
I see the bridge between the three(Elton,Rush, Obama). I applaud Elton's understanding of the situation! He's not doing the same thing as I've done for the past 30 yrs and Rush has tried to get right four times. This is where all should cross the bridge and move on. All rights and benefits should be the same, but, the title needs to be different(Marriage, Civil Union). Oh, remind Elton that they can only adopt (not have) children.
Why can't you take people at face value? Why is it so hard to believe that conservatives are all against gays? I say, love the sinner, hate the sin. Rush is not a hypocrite - haven't you even listened to what he said?? I'm sick of people putting words in others' mouths. Sheesh.