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John’s struggle with an eye infection began last year during a trip to France, resulting in the complete loss of vision in his right eye, while his left eye remains impaired.
WASHINGTON — Elton John recently shared his personal journey with vision loss.
In a candid conversation with Variety, the legendary “Benny and the Jets” artist expressed his determination to remain hopeful despite the blindness in his right eye, which followed an eye infection he suffered last year.
“It’s been incredibly tough,” he shared with Variety. “Losing my right eye and having poor vision in my left has made the past 15 months very challenging, as I haven’t been able to see, watch, or read anything.”
He continued, “I’ve had an amazing life, and there’s still hope. I just need to be patient, believing that one day science will provide a solution. Once they do, I’ll be okay. It’s similar to the AIDS crisis—it’s essential not to lose hope, to be strong and resilient, and to constantly push for progress.”
John first got the eye infection last year while vacationing in France. While both eyes were affected, he lost sight in his right eye.
His longtime partner, David Furnish, said the singer has seen some improvements in his left eye with some treatments.
“We’re continuing to explore and getting a lot of outreach from a lot of doctors who want to help and support. Because there’s damage to the retina in his right eye, retinas don’t heal naturally, so it’s an area of emerging science. But things are changing really quickly,” Furnish said. “What AI is doing for medicine and science alone is astonishing. And there’s all kinds of interesting new theories and breakthroughs, and they can process the data and do the trials a lot more quickly than they could before.”
John expressed gratitude for still being able to play and sing amid his health issues.
“I mean, you just have to grin and bear it. It does get me down sometimes. But on the whole, I’ve got a wonderful family; I have two great kids; I have [Furnish],” he told Variety.
The “Tiny Dancer” singer also shared how his famous friends have helped him during this time.
“Paul McCartney FaceTimes me to see how I’m doing. It’s really beautiful. The love I’ve received from him and from Pete Townshend and Mick Jagger and people like that have been amazing,” he said. “Or you get an email from Keith Richards saying, ‘Hello, darling, how you doing? You know we love you,’ and that’s it, but it just makes my day.”
