Elton John slams the Vatican over gay marriage hypocrisy following their investment in Rocketman biopic

Elton John
(Image credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Sir Elton John has accused the Vatican of hypocrisy following their decree that the Catholic Church cannot bless same-sex unions because God "cannot bless sin". Despite their controversial views, the star claims the establishment to have profited “from investing millions” in his 2019 hit film Rocketman, which celebrates his life as a homosexual musician.

The Vatican's orthodoxy office, the Congregation for the Doctrine, issued a negative response to a question about whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions via a two-page explanation published in seven languages, approved by Pope Francis. 

Following the statement, Elton John took to social media to post his thoughts, and tagged the Catholic Church and Pope Francis in his message. He writes:

"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?? #hypocrisy."

Elton John married his long-term partner David Furnish in 2014, following the legalisation of gay marriage.

Reportedly, the Vatican’s Secretariat Of State invested £850,000 in the biopic, despite the film’s accurate depiction of John’s homosexuality, which included multiple gay sex scenes. 

Liz Scarlett

Liz works on keeping the Louder sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.