The singer claimed the church profited from “investing millions” into Rocketman.
Sir Elton John took to Instagram yesterday to point out the “hypocrisy” in the Vatican’s stance on same-sex marriage.
The multi-award winning musician claimed that it was hypocritical of the church to invest millions into the film Rocketman, and yet refuse to bless same-sex unions.
Elton John’s comments come just days after a Pope Francis approved statement clarified the Catholic Church’s position on LGBT+ marriages.
In the memo, the Vatican described same-sex marriage as both “sinful” and a “choice”.
“The blessing of homosexual unions cannot be considered licit,” the statement read. It went on to say that God “cannot bless sin”.
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In response, Elton John expressed his frustration with the church on Instagram: “How can the Vatican refuse to bless gay marriages because they ‘are sin’, yet happily make a profit from investing millions in Rocketman – a film which celebrates my finding happiness from my marriage to David?”
A spokesperson for the musician suggested that the Vatican did in fact invest money into Elton John’s biopic film.
“Their investment has been widely reported in many credible news outlets including the Financial Times,” the statement read. “Aside from that, we are not able to comment any further.”
According to an Italian daily newspaper, the Holy See invested over €4 million into the production of Rocketman and Men In Black: International.
Rocketman was released in 2019 and enjoyed both commercial and critical success. The film starred Taron Egerton as Elton John and traces the star’s musical career.
The biopic won numerous awards, including the Oscar for Best Original Song. As Elton John, Egerton also won a Golden Globe for his performance.
However, Rocketman was also censored in a number of countries for its depiction of a gay relationship. Russian and Malaysian authorities, for instance, heavily censored the film.
