# So what bit Sir Elton's ass, anyway? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558 "2004-10-04T23:08:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/1 "2004-10-04T23:08:44Z")
Recently Elton John has had a couple of vocal public tantrums. First he bellows that the Taiwanese press are a bunch of [rude vile pigs](http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=6325750), and then he spouted off about Madonna, and how her alleged lip-synching ought to get her the [firing squad](http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/04/people.elton.reut/index.html). Perhaps the targets are deserving, but I’ve always thought Sir Elton was mellowing with age. Good to see he’s still got some spitfire spunk in him; but I wonder: Why the sudden fit of pique? Is it Iraq? The toupe on too tight? Is Bernie squeezing him for royalties? What bit a chunk out of poor Elton’s behind, anyhow? ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/2 "2004-10-04T23:26:25Z")
The bitch is back! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/3 "2004-10-04T23:35:29Z")
This happened a couple years ago, but I think it shows pretty conclusively Elton John is simply [insane.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=94877) ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/4 "2004-10-05T00:24:54Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > This happened a couple years ago, but I think it shows pretty conclusively Elton John is simply [insane.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=94877) Hrm. Couldn’t see the link in the Sun Times (appears to have expired). Can you summarize Sir Elton’s previous shitfit? Seems to have something to do with the Dalai Lama 😕 ? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/5 "2004-10-05T00:39:24Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Hrm. Couldn’t see the link in the Sun Times (appears to have expired). Can you summarize Sir Elton’s previous shitfit? Seems to have something to do with the Dalai Lama 😕 ? Oops, sorry 'bout that. [This site](http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/2001/10/17_6.html) has an obvious bias, but it jibes pretty well with what I recall from the mainstream press reporting I read at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/6 "2004-10-05T00:46:13Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > So what bit Sir Elton’s ass, anyway? Maybe it’s what’s _not_ biting him on the ass that has him so pissy? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/7 "2004-10-05T00:55:38Z")
Who is this “Spitfire” guy? ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/8 "2004-10-05T01:01:59Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > Maybe it’s what’s _not_ biting him on the ass that has him so pissy? LOL. I agree. Would you bite that ass? I would be afraid it would bite back! ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/9 "2004-10-05T01:03:33Z")
Maybe–tasteless and horrible as it sounds–he just wants to grab a few headlines? ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/10 "2004-10-05T02:06:29Z")
Elton is admittedly grumpy and getting grumpier as he ages. He’s also not happy about the rigors of travel, being away from home, his pets and his parter David Furnish. He hates to fly. Add all that up and you get, well, the bitch back. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/11 "2004-10-05T02:41:31Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Who is this “Spitfire” guy? Okay, that one took me a minute. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/12 "2004-10-05T03:15:43Z")
> [@](#): > > He’s also not happy about the rigors of travel, being away from home, his pets and his parter David Furnish. He hates to fly. Add all that up and you get, well, the bitch back. Then he should quit. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/13 "2004-10-05T04:03:08Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > Then he should quit. And give up show business?!?! ---
**Author:** ![Gamaliel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b487fb/32.png) [@Gamaliel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gamaliel)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/14 "2004-10-05T07:28:32Z")
Maybe he had a bad day or two? Geesh. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/15 "2004-10-05T08:16:32Z")
> [@Kel Varnsen - Latex Division](#): > > Then he should quit. It’s not that simple. He’s probably just like most people…trying to have his cake and eat it too. He loves to perform, he loves money, and he loves having an outlet for his creative talents. And he just plain loves to work, he always has. But in order to have these things, he has to travel. This means he also has to be away from the beautifully appointed homes he owns, the pets he loves, and for the most part, his partner, David Furnish. It’s a conundrum. He loves performing and its perks and rewards, but he also loves his home life, and he can’t have them both at the same time. Still, I imagine that he’s happier with things the way they are now, even though he may get into a grump from time to time, than he would be if he tried to give up performing and recording altogether and just concentrate on his home life. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/16 "2004-10-05T08:20:22Z")
I would bet the rent that he lapsed into drinking again. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/17 "2004-10-05T08:25:02Z")
Sounds like a lame attempt to rescue his fading musical career by injecting a bit of infamy. Meh. Drama queen. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/18 "2004-10-05T09:46:53Z")
Fading musical career? His career is to music as Einstein’s was to science. He has nothing left to earn, or change, or innovate. He’s just going the way of every old statesman since Aristotle, who left Athens in his winter years, declaring that he would not give the Athenians a “third chance” at ruining philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/19 "2004-10-05T10:38:56Z")
Boo Hoo for Elton. I watched his outburst on the News last night, and it seemed really attention seeking/news grabbing - absolutely pre meditated for a reaction from the press and associated music people at the Q Awards. As in: "Madonna - best live act?! (pause for reaction) She lipsynches! (another pause and look around the room) He’d said the only awards he ever wanted were an Ivor Novello and an Oscar, (and he’s got both of them) before the ceremony. Ungrateful little person from hell. If you don’t give a fuck about the award you’re up for, why even bother to turn up? And **Liberal** , what are you on about? Since when did Elton John innovate anything? And you don’t mean Aristotle, you meant to say Liberace. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558/20 "2004-10-05T10:55:29Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Fading musical career? His career is to music as Einstein’s was to science. He has nothing left to earn, or change, or innovate. He’s just going the way of every old statesman since Aristotle, who left Athens in his winter years, declaring that he would not give the Athenians a “third chance” at ruining philosophy. That’s pretty much what I meant (I think) - I’m not criticising his legacy, only observing that his actions might be provoked by the sort of desparation that comes from the descent from the peak. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-bit-sir-eltons-ass-anyway/267558.md?page=2)