Sir Elton John has lambasted the state of the UK in the wake of the 2016 EU Referendum, admitting that Brexit has made him “ashamed of his country”.
During a concert in Verona earlier this week, Sir Elton took the opportunity to address his Italian fans, speaking out about Britain’s decision to leave the EU, and the ensuing negotiations that have dominated the news ever since.
“I’m ashamed of my country for what it has done,” he told the audience, as reported by The Guardian. “[Brexit] has torn people apart.”
The singer continued: “I am sick to death of politicians, especially British politicians. I am sick to death of Brexit. I am a European. I am not a stupid, colonial, imperialist English idiot.”
Sir Elton is renowned for his straight-talking attitude, previously lamenting that he felt “hatred” and “meanness” had been allowed to prevail in the wake of the referendum result.
He said at the time: “You know, I don’t like it here at the moment, to be honest. I don’t like the hatred here. It’s like David said recently, it’s like a boil has been lanced that was there for a long time and suddenly all this hatred has come to the surface.
“People have been OK about gay marriage and things like that and suddenly they’re not… I have never, ever thought this of this country until now.
“I was always proud to come from here and to live here, because there are different opposing views about everything but it’s a pretty civilised place. At the moment, though, it’s not, and I don’t like it. It’s horrible.”
Sir Elton’s profile recently got a huge boost, thanks to his current Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, and the new biopic Rocket Man, which stars Taron Egerton in the lead role.
