Elton John has called on social media giants, including Facebook, to fight AIDS rather than twist elections.
The musician was delivering a lecture today on HIV in memory of the Princess of Wales.
He also said his tours include stops in Russia because he believes meeting people face-to-face is the best way to tackle homophobia.
Elton John’s call to social media giants
Sir Elton said:
‘Companies like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have a public role and a public responsibility. The pressure now needs to be applied to the tech giants, not because I think they are bad, but because they have so much power to do good.
‘In so many countries homosexuality gets wrapped up in subjects like pedophilia, even though there’s no basis in fact for this association.
‘Homophobia fuels shame, isolation and cruelty, and death from HIV.
‘What if Facebook nudged their users in the digital world into acts of positivity and decency? Which of tech’s customers would embrace this most passionately? I believe it is tech’s biggest customers, the young.
‘AIDS is still the second largest killer of 10 to 19 year olds on the planet. This is only set to get worse unless something dramatic is done. So let’s do something dramatic. At a stroke, we can reach 2billion people in a single moment on Facebook.
‘Imagine instead of all that ingenuity and data being used to turn elections or turn a quick buck, it was used to turn around lives.’
Sir Elton remembers Princess Diana’s HIV and AIDS work
Elton John paid tribute to his late friend, Princess Diana:
‘It is especially moving for me to deliver this lecture in honor of my friend Diana. I want to pay tribute to her compassion, her humility and her sense of duty.’
In particular, he recalled when she visited a hospice and held the hand of a gay man with AIDS.
He said: ‘We knew and she knew that the disease could not be communicated by hand. Yet there was a stigma and the stigma said otherwise. Diana acted at a time when an HIV diagnosis meant a death sentence. For so many, that gesture changed the debate.
‘Diana had a power and she chose to use it for the good of others.’
He went on to say that stigma was one of the biggest problems in ending HIV.
He said: ‘There is still too much to do. And much of it is in our hearts and minds.
‘When there is stigma, when it is them, rather than us, who suffer, then it easier to pass cruel laws. It is easy to fund us so we can be prevented from catching the infection, it is harder to fund them.’
Why Elton John goes to Russia
Elton also used the lecture to defend his decision to visit Russia, despite its homophobia.
During the lecture, he noted: ‘In Russia, 2million people are infected [with HIV], but less than 10% are on treatment.’
He went on to say: ‘The great force of Diana’s handshake was that it was a personal connection. It isn’t possible to shake someone’s hands online.
‘That is why my tours include stops in Russia. I could boycott it because of the homophobic legislation. I could share my views from the comfort and safety of my computer at home.
‘But it is better to go and talk to people on both sides of the argument – to build bridges and not walls. ‘Bringing people together is still the way you make real change.’
Diana, Elton and the Royals
The Royal Family have been among Elton John’s fans since the 1970s. Reportedly, the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, the Queen’s sister, both loved his songs.
Elton and Diana met in 1981 at Prince Andrew’s birthday party at Windsor Castle. That night, they danced the Charleston alone for 20 minutes.
But the pair fell out in the 1990s when Elton John published a coffee table book – called Rock and Royalty. The singer produced it in association with his friend, the designer Gianni Versace. It included pictures of members of the Royal Family, including one of the Princess and her sons. But they shared the pages with photos of semi-nude models.
However, the feud ended six weeks before Diana’s death. The pair renewed their friendship when Versace was shot dead outside his Miami Beach home in July 1997. Diana was pictured comforting Elton at Versace’s funeral.
Just weeks later, on 6 September 1997, Elton performed Candle in the Wind, in honor of Diana, at her own funeral.
Elton continued his friendship with Diana’s sons. He attended both William and Harry’s weddings, alongside his husband David Furnish.
Princess Diana broke royal protocol to fight HIV
Famously, Diana was the first British royal figure to contact AIDS patients.
Diana said: ‘HIV does not make people dangerous to know. You can shake their hands and give them a hug. Heaven knows they need it. What’s more, you can share their homes, their workplaces, and their playgrounds and toys.’
Her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, now continue her work, championing HIV good causes.
In particular, Prince Harry made headlines when he was filmed taking an HIV test at a sexual health clinic.
A lecture to remember Princess Diana and her HIV work
Sir Elton’s lecture was organised by National AIDS Trust and held in London this afternoon. Politicians, health workers, journalists, civil society leaders, celebrities and people living with HIV were in the invited audience.
Celebrity attendees at the event included British TV personality Clive Anderson, Olympic swimmer Mark Foster and BBC presenter Kirsty Wark.
Princess Diana was patron of the National AIDS Trust (NAT) until her death in 1997. NAT created The Diana, Princess of Wales Lecture on HIV in 1999 as a living tribute to ‘The People’s Princess’.
And Elton is not the first high-profile speaker. Former US President Bill Clinton delivered the lecture in 2001, and the then UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan did it in 1999.
NAT stopped organising the lecture in the early 2000s. But now the charity has revived it to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
Elton himself has been a leading fundraiser for HIV. He founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992. Since then the EJAF has raised over $200million (€170million) to support HIV related programs in 55 countries.
Introducing Elton, his husband, David Furnish, recalled the early days of EJAF.
He said: ‘He was determined to start his charity in a small hands-on way. He even personally delivered meals to the doors of people living with AIDS.’
Elton John has previously said that he took risks with unprotected sex during the 1980s. Indeed, he considers himself lucky to have avoided the AIDS epidemic.
But HIV still touched his life. Sir Elton lost several friends to AIDS, including Queen singer Freddie Mercury.
Speaking about delivering the lecture, Sir Elton praised the work of Princess Diana: ‘I am delighted to be able to deliver this lecture and to remember the enormous contribution Diana, Princess of Wales made to this cause.
‘In the quarter century since the Elton John AIDS Foundation was established, the global AIDS fight has changed beyond recognition. Yet tolerance and courage has never been more important in the fight to create an AIDS-free generation and make the world a more accepting place for those living with HIV.’
‘Crucial time in the global HIV epidemic’
Deborah Gold, chief executive of NAT welcomed Elton’s speech. She said it came at a vital time in the fight against HIV:
‘It’s an honor to have Sir Elton John deliver our Diana, Princess of Wales Lecture on HIV. In our 30th year, it is particularly timely to focus on the challenges ahead in the fight against HIV, as well as paying tribute to the lasting impact of Princess Diana’s work.
‘2018 is a critical time in the global HIV epidemic. We have all the tools we need to beat HIV, yet we lack the level of investment or political priority necessary to use them fully.’
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