Sir Elton John has addressed his deteriorating eyesight at the gala performance of his new West End show, admitting he ‘couldn’t see’ the performance.
The musical legend, 77, shocked fans when he recently revealed that he has lost the sight in his right eye after battling an infection over the summer.
He shared that it had left him struggling to work because his vision in his left eye is ‘not the greatest’ either.
On Sunday night, he attended the star-studded gala performance of his new West End show, a musical adaptation of Oscar-nominated movie The Devil Wears Prada.
Taking to the stage to share his thanks to everyone involved with the production, he told the audience that he had now ‘lost my eyesight’ – but reassured everyone that he had still enjoyed the performance.
‘As some of you may know I have had issues and now I have lost my sight. I haven’t been able to see the performance, but I have enjoyed it,’ he reportedly told the crowd.
Giving credit to his husband of a decade, 62-year-old David Furnish, he continued as per a TikTok video posted by @aeronjamesuk: ‘To my husband, who’s been my rock because I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews because, as you know, I’ve lost my eyesight.
‘So it’s hard for me to see it, but I love to hear it and boy it sounded good tonight, okay?’
He was also assisted off the stage by Furnish, according to MailOnline, who stood next to him during his speech, surrounded by the cast and creative team, which includes US star Vanessa Williams in the lead role.
Miranda Priestly – the fearsome editor of fashion magazine Runway, played by Meryl Streep in the 2006 film – is known to have been based on Vogue editorial icon Dame Anna Wintour, who was also at the charity event for World Aids Day.
The book the film is based on was written by Lauren Weisberger, who was Wintour’s assistant early on in her career.
Sir Elton confessed to Good Morning America of the extent of his vision loss just days ago: ‘It’s been a while since I’ve done anything, I just have to get off my backside.
‘I unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the South of France.
‘It’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see. My left eye is not the greatest.’
However, the chart-topping star has shared that there is ‘hope and encouragement that it will be okay’ and things could improve.
‘But I’m kind of stuck at the moment, because I can do something like this, but going into the studio and recording, I don’t know. Because I can’t see a lyric for start.’
The Crocodile Rock hitmaker – who has sons Zachary, 13, and 11-year-old Elijah with Furnish – admitted he has been ‘floored’ by the situation.
He said: ‘We’re taking initiative to try and get it better. But at the moment, that’s really what we’re concentrating on. It’s never fortunate for anything like this to happen.
‘And it kinda floored me, and I can’t see anything. I can’t read anything, I can’t watch anything.’
He had previously revealed in September he had been left with ‘limited vision’ in one eye due to the infection.
In a post on Instagram, he shared: ‘Over the summer, I’ve been dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye.
‘I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye.
‘I am so grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me over the last several weeks.’
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