Years after Donald Trump called Kim Jong Un “Little Rocket Man,” Elton John has claimed his hit song inspired the North Korean dictator's nickname.
“I laughed, I thought it was great,” John said. diverse“I just thought, ‘Well done, Donald,’” Ramin Setoudeh said in an interview at the Toronto Film Festival. “… Donald has always been a fan of mine, and he’s come to my concerts many times. So, I mean, I’ve always been friendly with him, and I thank him for his support. When he did that, I thought it was funny. He made me laugh.”
As Mike Pompeo revealed in his 2022 memoir, “Never Give Up,” Trump apparently had to explain the meaning of the title to Kim Jong Un, as the supreme leader was unfamiliar with the “Tiny Dancer” singer. Trump then reportedly signed an Elton John CD as a gift for Kim.
“Of course he hasn’t heard of me, Kim Jong-un. I would be very surprised if he had,” John said with a laugh. “I’ve never been to North Korea before, and I don’t plan to. But I thought it was a light moment, and it was fun.”
Following the world premiere of the Disney+ documentary “Elton John: It’s Never Too Late” on Friday night, the music legend appeared to take a subtle dig at Trump. “Kindness will always prevail… That’s what I hope for the American elections in November,” said John, who in 2022 received the National Humanities Medal from President Joe Biden.
He delved deeper into the election on Saturday afternoon during a stop. diverseToronto International Film Festival Studio, sponsored by J.Crew and SharkNinja.
“I don’t go on stage and say to people, ‘You should vote Republican, you should vote Democrat.’ I have nothing to do with how they vote. They came to see me, and I’m very grateful that they did,” John said. “What I wanted to say last night … is that there is a danger, as Dick Cheney said the other day. America is in a very volatile place. It’s a country that I love, and I’ve always loved, and I’m very grateful that it made me who I am.”
“I just want people to vote for things that are fair, things that are important to people: the right to choose, the right to be who you are, and not let anyone else tell you who you are. And that goes for the Supreme Court,” he continued.
While John did not explicitly endorse Kamala Harris or Trump, he did ask rhetorically: “I just hope people make the right decision to know what the future is going to be. Is it going to be full of fire and brimstone… or are we going to have a more peaceful and safe place? People can vote for whoever they like, but as far as I’m concerned, I love love. I’m a loving person, and I want that back in America. I feel like it’s been lost in the last 12 years.”
John received a standing ovation after the premiere of “Elton John: It's Never Too Late,” a film that examines his career and personal highs and lows, on Friday night. The “Rocketman” singer cried during the night's Q&A. “I don't want my tombstone to say he sold a million records. I want it to say he was a great father and a great husband,” he said.
Directed by RJ Cutler and John's husband David Furnish, the documentary traces John's journey to becoming one of the biggest rock stars in the world in music history. The film includes his iconic performances at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in 1975 in front of more than 100,000 fans and again in 2022 as the final North American stop on his “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” tour.
“The idea of the Dodgers in 1975 versus the Dodgers in 2022 and the changes and differences in Elton’s life — it seemed like a really satisfying narrative arc that we could explore and play with,” Furnish said.
Cutler spoke positively of his collaboration with Furnish, who, as John's husband, “felt [the story] In his heart and in a way that no one else can.
“As a filmmaker, to have a collaborator who gives you feedback at that level was a very rich communication process,” Cutler said.
“Elton John: Never Too Late” will have a limited theatrical release in the United States in November, and will stream on Disney+ on December 13.
