Sir Elton John has opened up about his health issues, saying the loss of his vision has left him “devastated”.
The music icon has been open about the difficulties he has faced in recent years regarding his health, and opened up in 2024 about how an infection left him blind in one eye. This, he shared, came amid him struggling with poor vision in the other eye too.
He also shared how, although it was impacting his career in music as he was unable to “see a lyric for a start”, he was hopeful that things could improve.
Now, he has spoken to Variety in a new interview, and given another update on his wellbeing, adding that the ongoing sight issues have felt “devastating”.
“Because I lost my right eye and my left eye’s not so good, the last 15 months have been challenging for me because I haven’t been able to see anything, watch anything, read anything,” he explained, adding that he still has “hope” that the situation will get better.
“I’ve had the most incredible life, and there is hope. I’ve just gotta be patient that someday science will help me with this one. Once they help me with this one, I’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s exactly like the AIDS situation. You mustn’t give up hope, you must be stoic, you must be strong and you must always try and batter the door down to try and improve things.”
The latest comments come following Sir Elton opening up last year about other health issues he has been facing, and told fans in October 2024 that “there’s not much of me left” following multiple surgeries.
“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,” he said at the premiere of his career-spanning documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. “In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. But I’m still here.”
Despite the struggles he has been facing, the music legend was able to poke fun at his poor vision when presenting the award for Best Original Score – Motion Picture at the Golden Globes.
Taking to the stage with Brandi Carlile, Elton said: “I don’t know if you know, but there’s been a lot of stories going around about my regressive eyesight. I just wanted to reassure everybody that it’s not as bad as it seems. I’m so pleased to be here with my co-host, Rihanna”.
Given the recent struggles, the singer-songwriter confirmed that he would “not be going on tour again” once his extensive ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour ended in July 2023. However, he later said he would perform “the odd show”, giving fans hope they would be able to see the music icon once more.
So far, these have included the 50th annual Candlelight Concert in the US last December, the opening of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center last summer, at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame ceremony where he inducted his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin in 2023, and at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Earlier this week, he was confirmed as the first headliner for Rock in Rio 2026.
“I’ve always had a fantastic time whenever we’ve played in Brazil. I didn’t manage to get to South America for the farewell tour, so when Rock In Rio asked me to play, I said ‘yes’ immediately,” he said.
“I love my Brazilian fans, they hold such a special place in my heart. The energy these big one-off shows have been giving me since I stopped touring is unbeatable. As a band, we’re playing brilliantly and we’re sounding as good as we ever have, and, importantly, we’re still really loving playing together. I really cannot wait to return to Brazil next summer.”
As for the new interview with Variety, that discussion also saw Sir Elton open up about his efforts to stop the global spread of AIDS, and claim that President Trump could become “one of the greatest presidents in history” if he “ended AIDS.”
“There’s a big war that’s being settled, hopefully,” he said, in reference to the situation in Gaza. “But there’s another war with people who are suffering from HIV and AIDS that should be able to get their medicine but can’t, because governments won’t let them. It’s inhumane.”
“President Trump has maybe solved the peace problem…If he wants to go down as one of the greatest presidents in history… if he ended AIDS, that would really be a feather in his cap.”
