British singer Elton John on Friday accused Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), publisher of ‘Daily Mail’ and ‘Mail on Sunday’, of an “abhorrent” invasion of privacy by revealing details of his health and the birth of his first child through a surrogate mother.
John testified in the High Court in London, in a trial that began on January 19 where seven people, including Prince Henry and actress Liz Hurley, are suing ANL for allegedly obtaining confidential information by unlawful means, such as phone tapping, deception or data theft, often through private detectives, between 1993 and 2011 and, in one case, as late as 2018.
The artist, who was the last of the plaintiffs to testify, appeared by videoconference, after her husband, David Furnish, of whom she said she “speaks for both of us.”
In the case of John and Furnish, their complaint against the newspapers focuses on ten articles published between 2000 and 2015.
“Our complaint addresses some of the most horrendous things you can imagine in terms of invasion of privacy,” John said when questioned by ANL attorney Catrin Evans.
Against the company’s argument that the group, which filed its lawsuit in 2022, did so out of time (normally a maximum of six years after the last alleged crime), the singer argued that he filed it when he learned “the seriousness of what happened”, after learning about the revelations of some detectives involved.
In his written testimony, Elton John denounced that the ‘Mail’ clandestinely investigated him “during periods when he was hospitalized”.
“We have also seen documents that prove their intense inquiry surrounding the birth of our first child, Zachary. We do not believe there was any legitimate avenue by which they could have uncovered details about our egg donor, embryos and paternity issues,” he said.
“I have dedicated my life to my music, but that doesn’t mean that deeply personal issues, which I have the right to manage privately, have to be in the public domain,” he added.
Some of the victims’ lawyers are expected to continue testifying next week, reported Agencia EFE, in a nine-week judicial process that is expected to conclude at the end of March, after which the court will issue its ruling.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
