Sir Elton John makes first public appearance since revealing ‘limited vision’ | Ents & Arts News
Sir Elton John looked in good spirits as he made his first public appearance since revealing a severe eye infection had left him with limited vision.
The 77-year-old singer smiled and gave the thumbs-up as he arrived on the back of a buggy at Toronto International Film Festival alongside his husband David Furnish.
The Rocket Man star was at the red carpet event for the world premiere of a documentary about his life.
Directed by RJ Cutler and Furnish, Elton John: Never Too Late looks back over the musician’s decades-long career and shows him preparing for his farewell concert at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Sir Elton’s appearance came just days after making the announcement about his sight on Instagram to his almost five million fans.
He wrote: “Over the summer, I’ve been dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye.
“I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye.
“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.”
Sir Elton reportedly made a joke about his eye at the Toronto festival, telling the audience: “I’m having the best time of my life – except this f****** eye. I wish I could see you,” he said, according to Variety.
He also became emotional as he stressed the importance of family over fame after the documentary was screened.
Sir Elton and Furnish share two sons, Zachary and Elijah.
The singer said: “The thing I love about this movie is that I have him [Furnish] and I have my two sons.”
Pausing to hold back tears, he added: “I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved.
“And I will hope to keep making music, but I want to be at home with them and see them and treasure them.
“It’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever had in my life, more than having a first number one album on Billboard, yeah, that was really nice for about five minutes, but this is a lifetime.”
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Sir Elton drew the curtain on his touring career spanning more than half a century with a momentous performance at Glastonbury last year.
The music legend, who was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour at a ceremony in November 2021, is known for hits including I’m Still Standing and Your Song.