Elton John Reveals 2009 Ukrainian Adoption Denial Because He Is Gay
With access to the best of what life has to offer, and famous friends and family to boot, Sir Elton John seems like he would be a model candidate to give an adopted child a happy home. Yet that wasn't the case when John attempted to adopt a Ukrainian child in 2009, reported Star Observer.
Speaking to pop star Dua Lipa on her new podcast "Due Lipa: At Your Service," (we have questions too but just go with it), John revealed that he was prevented from adopting in Ukrainian because he was gay. What's more is John says he didn't even think about starting a family with his husband David Furnish until they visited a Ukrainian orphanage.
"I was carrying this little boy around for hours. We had a press conference at the end and they said 'You seem very fond of this little boy. Would you think of adopting him?' and I went 'I'd actually love to!'," Elton recalled. "Of course, not thinking about social media — it went around the world straight away. It was 'Elton John wants to adopt two children.'"
Because he is a very public gay figure, he was not permitted to adopt, John said. The Ukrainian Family, Youth and Sports Minister Yuriy Pavlenko said that they would not process John's application for adoption if he filed one.
But the reaction did get him and his husband talking.
"After that happened, David said 'Well, what do you think about having kids?' I always said no but this little boy was telling me something," said John. "He was saying 'c'mon you can be a dad' and that's when we decided to have children, because of this little boy in Ukraine."
John and Furnish are now of course a famous family of four as parents to sons Zachary and Elijah, who recently took a photo with their famous godmother Lady Gaga at John's Oscars party. And by the looks of their smiling faces, John and Furnish are treating the two like royalty.