Elton John had to apologize to a steward at his gig in Gloucester, U.K., on Sunday after he burst into an on-stage expletive-filled tirade and made her cry.
The 68-year-old music legend took umbrage when he saw the stewards trying to stop a section of the crowd from waving their arms in the air, reports Pink News.
“I came here to play music, now all you stewards down there, especially the woman in the [expletive] ponytail, [expletive] lighten up, will you?” he said in front of a crowd of thousands.
“These people have come to hear music and if they want to put their hands in the air, let them. This is not [expletive] China, so [expletive] off.”
He also directed other extremely offensive language solely at the female steward, who was reportedly seen walking off stage in tears while the Circle of Life singer’s rant was caught on video and posted to social media.
Sir Elton later apologized and brought the steward in question back on stage to share his piano stool and gave her a hug.
“It’s not good enough to say that. Whoever told the stewards to be that strict, that’s their fault and not hers, and I apologize,” he said.
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Write to Helen Regan at helen.regan@timeasia.com