Elton John was photographed carrying a Dolce & Gabbana shopping bag Monday, just two days after calling for a boycott of the brand following the designers’ comments in opposition to gay marriage and in-vitro fertilization.
The Daily Mail published the photos online early Tuesday with a note from an Elton John spokesman indicating that they were legitimate. He said John was carrying the bag to a recording studio and had not been shopping.
A different publicist told TheWrap at the time that the photos had been doctored and threatened legal action, but she backtracked Tuesday afternoon.
What about your boycott Elton? http://t.co/xFOXgRAuGK pic.twitter.com/jZR4zmcB7f
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) March 17, 2015
“Yes he was carrying the bag but he hadn’t been shopping,” the first publicist later told the Daily Mail. “And it should not detract from their original message or the boycott.”
John called for a boycott of the high-fashion Italian brand Saturday after partners Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce — who like John are openly gay — made comments to Italian publication Panorama opposing gay adoptions and IVF children.
“We oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one,” the pair said.
“You are born to a mother and a father. Or at least that’s how it should be,” Dplce added. “I call children of chemistry, synthetic children. Rented wombs, semen chosen from a catalog.”
John responded in a fury on social media. He and husband David Furnish have two children via a surrogate and IVF.
“How dare you? refer to my beautiful children as ‘synthetic,’” he wrote. “And shame on you for wagging your judgmental little fingers at IVF – a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfill their dream of having children.”
Tim Kenneally contributed to this report.