ABC/Randy Holmes

ABC/Randy HolmesLast week, Elton John wrote a letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin, accusing him of hypocrisy.  Now Putin has responded.

Russia has come under fire from activists over its so-called “gay propaganda law,” which has reportedly led to an increase in violence and discrimination against gays since it was enacted in 2013.  However, Putin said in an interview with the Financial Times last week that Russia wants gay people to “be happy” and that the country has “no problem” with members of the LGBTQ community. 

In response, Elton wrote, in part, “Russian distributors chose to heavily censor my film Rocketman by removing all references to my finding true happiness through my 25 year relationship with [my husband] David and the raising of my two beautiful sons. This feels like hypocrisy to me.”

Now, according to multiple outlets, Putin was quoted by the Russian state-run news agency TASS as saying, “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 went on to say, “We [in Russia] have a very neutral attitude to members of the LGBT community.”

“We have a law, for which we’ve been slammed, a law banning propaganda of homosexuality among minors,” hen added. But according to Putin, the law’s only function is to make sure children are “left alone” until they are old enough to make decisions about their sexuality.

Putin was also very complimentary to Elton, saying, “I respect him very much, he is a genial musician, he comes to Russia and we are happy to listen to him sing.”

Your move, Elton.

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