Elton John will not be playing the Trump inauguration, a source close to the pop star told the New York Post on Wednesday.
The news comes on the heels of Trump transition official Anthony Scaramucci telling the BBC that the openly gay singer would be a historic first.
“Elton John is going to be doing our concert on the mall for inauguration,” said Mr. Scaramucci, adding, “This will be the first American president in U.S. history that enters the White House with a pro-gay rights stance.”
While largely avoiding social issues in his general-election campaign, President-elect Trump said in a “60 Minutes” interview after the election that he considers the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision on same-sex marriage to be a “settled” matter.
In Dec. 2005, according to Pink News, a British gay-interest news site, Mr. Trump congratulated Mr. John for entering a civil partnership with his longtime boyfriend David Furnish, writing a blog post on his Trump University website congratulating the couple.
“I know both of them and they get along wonderfully. It’s a marriage that’s going to work,” wrote Mr. Trump, reported Pink News.
Of course, at the time, same-sex marriage was still not legally recognized. Mr. John and Mr. Furnish did get married nine years to the day later, a few months after same-sex marriages were legalized in England and Wales.
While Mr. John is politically liberal — he endorsed Hillary Clinton for president and performed at Democratic fundraisers — he has played private gigs for at least one prominent conservative superstar. In June 2010, he performed at the wedding of radio host Rush Limbaugh and Kathryn Rogers, reportedly being paid $1 million.
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