Elton John has condemned what he called a “sickening” press intrusion into his family’s private life, as the High Court heard his privacy claim on Friday.
The British music icon has described how the Daily Mail allegedly breached his family’s privacy after the birth of his eldest son, Zachary, in 2010 and reported on his own health in a manner he found deeply distressing.
Elton and his husband, David Furnish, are among several high-profile figures, including Prince Harry and actress Elizabeth Hurley, bringing claims against the newspaper’s publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), and the Mail on Sunday over alleged breaches of privacy. ANL denies all accusations of unlawful information gathering.
In his witness statement, Elton said the intrusion was “truly sickening” and “outside even the most basic standards of human decency”.
According to the I’m Still Standing singer, 10 articles published between 2002 and 2015 were based on information obtained unlawfully.
Elton stated that he felt “passionately” about “how wrong it is that such gross invasions could have been inflicted upon us and our family and friends without us ever knowing”.
He continued, “I have found the Mail’s deliberate invasion into my medical health and medical details surrounding the birth of our son Zachary abhorrent and outside even the most basic standards of human decency.”
During the hearing, Catrin Evans KC, representing ANL, asked the 78-year-old whether he had complained at the time the articles were published, to which he responded, “I can’t remember”.
“We did not know the extent of the seriousness of what had gone on,” he continued. “When we knew the seriousness of what had gone on, we took action, because we were outraged.”
Elton told the court that while he accepts being in the public eye, that does not mean forfeiting his right to privacy, stating that “deeply personal things which I have a right to deal with in private are fair game”.
The hitmaker’s evidence follows testimony from Furnish on Thursday, in which he told the court that a 2010 article included details from their son Zachary’s birth certificate before they had received it themselves.
Lawyers for ANL have maintained that the article was sourced “entirely legitimately”.
