Elton John's son: I admire Sir Elton but I do wish he wouldn't treat poor Zachary as a fashion accessory
After Sir Elton John first revealed that he and his boyfriend had bought a baby son from a surrogate mother, the star spoke of the poignancy of this little addition to his family.
He said: ‘It’s such a joyous thing to be a parent.’
The multi-millionaire singer and his civil partner David Furnish had huge amounts of love to give the child.
And whatever the lad’s unconventional parentage, in a world where gay marriage and gay adoption have become blessed by government ministers, people accepted Elton’s son as the latest chapter in his rock ’n’ roll circus life.
Of course, there were mutterings of concern about how baby Zachary would grow up, surrounded by showbiz razzmatazz and every privilege that money could buy.
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For their part, Sir Elton and Mr Furnish’s happiness became complete when last month when they bought a second son, from the same surrogate.
The couple told Hello! magazine: ‘Both of us have longed to have children, but the reality that we now have two sons is almost unbelievable. The birth of our second son completes our family in a most precious and perfect way.
‘It is difficult to fully express how we are feeling at this time; we are just overwhelmed with happiness and excitement.’
So much for their ‘happiness’. What about the happiness of their two children?
After such a high-profile birth, perhaps it would have been wise to protect the boys from the ferocious spotlight that showbiz celebrity attracts.
But no. This week, Sir Elton dragged poor Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John (who, not surprisingly, has already been ridiculed for his name) around his post-Oscars party.
They dolled him up like Little Lord Fauntleroy in a grotesque tuxedo, crisp shirt, miniature black bow-tie and designer trainers.
This poor child is just two years old! Zachary high-fived rock royalty such as Bono of U2 as a queue of actors, actresses and supermodelsHe held tightly to the hands of his parents (incidentally, Sir Elton is named as ‘father’ and Mr Furnish as ‘mother’ on the boy’s birth certificate) and they ensured that he was in all the photographs — he was paraded for an hour around the red carpet.
This poor child is just two years old! Even Victoria Beckham waited for her son Romeo’s tenth birthday before she allowed him to become a poster boy for the clothing chain Burberry and dressed him up in designer wear and black sunglasses, gelling his hair in a quiff like a poodle at Crufts.
All blond tresses, Zachary high-fived rock royalty such as Bono of U2 as a queue of actors, actresses and supermodels took it in turns to swoon while the cameras clicked.
Brand Elton was back in the news. Images were transmitted across the globe — which is exactly what Sir Elton, 65, and David, 50, intended.
The tragedy, though, is that their little boy’s presence at the party betrays an uncomfortable truth.While Zachary is undoubtedly a much loved son, he is also an important public relations prop for an ageing musician.
This goes against everything that Sir Elton promised after Zachary was born.
At that time he expressed an admirable view of fatherhood, saying: ‘I don’t want Zachary to be a focus of people’s attention. I want Zachary to have a solid, old- fashioned childhood.
Baby love: Elton John holds baby Zachary in 2011‘I so value my own childhood and the sense of wonder and personal discovery I enjoyed that we want to give Zachary — as much as we possibly can — the same thing.’ Sir Elton admitted the challenge would be hard, but said he wanted his son to have ‘that same normality and for things in life to have real value’.
If only he had been true to his word. After all, how does choosing the outrageous pop star Lady Gaga as Zachary’s godmother help to instil normality?
Mr Furnish tried to justify Zachary’s Oscars outing by saying: ‘We have a lot of friends who wanted to see him, so we brought him along for the first hour of the party.’
If they were that keen, perhaps those friends should have been invited to make the effort to visit him at home — surrounded by the ‘normality’ of his toys, rather than among the publicity-greedy nabobs of Tinseltown.
Let me be clear. As a gay man, who lived in a children’s home until I was adopted at the age of two, I absolutely support the right of a same-sex couple, male or female, to adopt children.
Yes, thousands of years of human development have meant that, by and large, a child needs a loving mother and father.
But I have also seen at first hand what good parents two dads can make.
I also hugely admire Sir Elton, who has spent millions of pounds of his own money through his Aids foundation. He has successfully battled against drink and drug addiction.
The warm public reaction to his civil partnership with David Furnish underlined his status as a much-loved star.
No, it’s not that he has two fathers that might cause Zachary problems.
It is Sir Elton’s irresponsible and selfish decision to use him as a fashion accessory and novelty act to burnish his own credentials with the record-buying public.
While Sir Elton may be considered a musical god, he is also a pampered, self-indulgent millionaire.
Don’t take my word for it. David Furnish once said the same in a fly-on-the-wall TV documentary he made about Sir Elton, which he called Tantrums And Tiaras.
Regardless of Zachary being treated like a toy in front of his dad’s Hollywood cronies, there has always been the issue of Sir Elton’s age.
In the spotlight: Zachary is held by newswoman Barbara Walters during an interview in 2011 with proud parents David Furnish (left) and Elton John (right)Already entitled to a state pension, he will be 81 when Zachary is ready to go to university.
He WOULD not have been allowed to adopt a child in Britain, yet by living in America and using a Ukrainian surrogate, Sir Elton has managed to exploit his vast wealth to buy two sons to add to his travelling stage show.
Altruism is not much in existence in Hollywood but even the most publicity-crazy celebrities try to protect their children.
We might cringe at the sight of Tom Cruise’s daughter Suri tottering about in high heels selected from her £95,000 shoe collection from the age of three. But we have never seen her at an awards party.
When Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt attended the Baftas in London a few years ago, they arrived with their children, but refused to go to the after-show party because they wanted to return to their hotel to be with their family.
Hollywood history is littered with the tragedies of stars’ children who have gone off the rails, unable to cope with living in the shadow of famous parents.
In the name of sanity, isn’t that something Elton should have learned from his long celebrity career?
If he hasn’t, he ought to listen to the experts. Take behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings: ‘I feel very uncomfortable seeing Elton John’s baby plastered all over OK! magazine,’ she says.
‘It reduces a child to a commodity to be shown off like a new house or a new car.
‘It’s great that surrogacy is being publicised for women who can’t conceive, but it’s troubling to see celebrities acquiring babies like designer accessories.’
So I have a suggestion for Sir Elton: when it’s time to host your next fabulous Oscars party, ditch the mini-tuxedos.
Instead, put your sons in their pyjamas, kiss them goodnight and tuck them in bed with their teddies.
You can then go to the party with David. Trouble is, will the photographers take any notice?
