Performing Thursday in Tucson, openly
gay singer Elton John snubbed a boycott of Arizona, the Arizona
Daily Star reported.
Several fellow musicians are honoring
the boycott supported by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's
largest gay rights group, the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of
Commerce and 21 other groups.
The gay groups called for the boycott
after state lawmakers approved an immigration law they say will lead
to “racial profiling, discrimination and anti-immigrant extremism.”
“S.B. 1070 essentially declares an
entire class of people to be inherently criminal on the basis of
their race and appearance,” HRC said in a statement.
But during his sold-out concert, John
dismissed the concerns.
He said he was pleased to be playing in
Arizona and then called musicians honoring the boycott “fuck wits.”
“Let's face it: I still play in
California, and as a gay man I have no legal rights whatsoever. So
what the fuck's up with these people?”
The 63-year-old singer-songwriter drew
the ire of gay rights groups last month when he accepted a $1 million
paycheck for performing at the wedding of Rush Limbaugh, who has a
long track record of demeaning minorities, including the LGBT
community. John entered a civil partnership in the UK with filmmaker
David Furnish in 2005.