'Elton John mistaken about LGBT rights in Russia'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that British singer Elton John is mistaken about the rights of LGBTs in Russia I have a lot of respect for him he is a genius musician we all enjoy his music but I think he is mistaken Putin said on Saturday during a press conference after the G20 Summit in the Japanese city of Osaka according to the Russian news agency InterfaxHe said that the Russian government has a relaxed and unprejudiced attitude towards the LGBT community Efe news reportedPutins remarks came after the artist slammed the Russian leader over the communitys problems in the country In April 2017 however the daily Novaya Gazeta reported that dozens of men were seized tortured and slain in Chechnya for their sexual orientation or suspected sexual orientationElton John said on his Instagram account that he was deeply upset by an interview that Putin gave on the eve of the G20 Summit to the UKs Financial Times newspaper in which he said that the liberal idea has become obsoleteAlso ReadElton John responds to Vladimir Putins LGBTQ rights comment after Rocketman censorshipI strongly disagree with your view that pursuing policies that embrace multicultural and sexual diversity are obsolete in our societies I find duplicity in your comment that you want LGBT people to be happy and that we have no problem in that in Russia Elton John wrote in an open letter to PutinView this post on InstagramDear President Putin I was deeply upset when I read your recent interview in the Financial Times I strongly disagree with your view that pursuing policies that embrace multicultural and sexual diversity are obsolete in our societies I find duplicity in your comment that you want LGBT people to ldquobe happyrdquo and that ldquowe have no problem in thatrdquo Yet Russian distributors chose to heavily censor my film ldquoRocketmanrdquo by removing all references to my finding true happiness through my 25 year relationship with David and the raising of my two beautiful sons This feels like hypocrisy to me I am proud to live in a part of the world where our governments have evolved to recognise the universal human right to love whoever we want And Irsquom truly grateful for the advancement in government policies that have allowed and legally supported my marriage to David This has brought us both tremendous comfort and happiness Respectfully Elton John LOVEISLOVE WORLDPRIDE EJAFA post shared by Elton John eltonjohn onJun 28 2019 at 1134am PDTThe artist condemned the Russian Presidents statement calling it hypocrisy particularly considering that the Russian distributor of Rocketman a biographical movie about Elton John cut various scenes of gay sex and drug use from the filmAccording to a 2019 report by the International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association ILGA Europe Russia ranks 46th out of 49 European countries in terms of respect for the rights of the LGBTI community and the fight against discriminationMentioned in the report are a number of members of that community who were attacked in St Petersburg and Moscow LGBT events that were banned or interrupted Web sites that were blocked on grounds they were spewing propaganda and violations of the gay communitys human rights in ChechnyaAmnesty International AI recently recalled the gay purges in Chechnya that were inflicted in 2017 and went on until 2018Putin said in the Financial Times interview that the liberal idea has become obsolete It has come into conflict with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the populationI am not trying to insult anyone because we have been condemned for our alleged homophobia But we have no problem with LGBT persons God forbid let them live as they wish But some things do appear excessive to us Putin said at the G20 SummitCatch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates