Back to the Future star says she was Elton John’s ‘beard’ for the night
Darlene Vogel (Getty)
Darlene Vogel has recalled a surreal night in 1980s Hollywood when she acted as a ‘beard’ for Elton John during a night out.
Speaking on the ‘The Patrick LabyorSheaux’ podcast, the Back to the Future Part II star said she ended up partying with the ‘Rocket Man’ icon after meeting through mutual connections in the 1980s.
Vogel said John put his arm around her and joked they had to ‘keep up the image’, saying: “Elton has his arm around me and he go he’s like ‘got to keep up the image darling.’ I’m like, ‘Use me.'”
The actor later realised she had effectively been his ‘beard’ a term used to describe someone who helps conceal another person’s sexuality.
Despite the circumstances, Vogel described the singer as warm and down-to-earth, saying she felt like she was ‘just hanging out with a buddy’.
John, who first publicly came out as bisexual in 1976 before later identifying as gay, has since become one of the world’s most prominent LGBTQ+ figures and has been married to David Furnish since 2014.
