Sir Elton John has said he is “not afraid” to confront Vladimir Putin to his face on LGBT rights.

The singer was embarassed last year when he fell for a hoax orchestrated by two Russian TV pranksters – who called him pretending to be Vladimir Putin.

The pair had tricked Sir Elton into believing the real Vladimir Putin wanted to meet and discuss LGBT rights.

However, after public fallout from the prank, Kremlin officials confirmed the real President Putin would indeed be willing to meet with Sir Elton – who has an extremely large Russian following.

Speaking to the Evening Standard’s ES Magazine, Sir Elton said he is heading to meet Putin “soon”.

He said: ““Soon I’m going to go to Moscow to talk to him face to face over a cup of tea — what’s the worst that can happen?”

He added: “It’s not just gay rights. I’ll take on anything and go anywhere to help those in need. I am not afraid.

“I will speak out. What are they going to do to me? If they shoot me, they shoot me. I don’t care.

“I am a fan of the human being. I don’t like seeing dead children washed up on the beaches of Europe. But I am an optimist. There’s more good in this world than bad.”

Artist’s impression

The singer also opened up about his family life – revealing that although he’d love to give his two sons a sister, he thinks he’s “too old” to become a dad again.

Click here to see what happened when Sir Elton went for a ride with James Corden…

• Dec 01 2023

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