Elton John Responds to Rod Stewart’s Criticisms of his Farewell Tour

Elton John has finally publicly acknowledged the current rift between him and Rod Stewart, which started when Stewart was critical of him announcing a farewell tour.

Back in March 2018, Stewart appeared on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. When he was asked what he thought about John's retirement tour, he said."I did email her [Elton] and said, ‘What, again dear?’ And, I didn’t hear anything back. But talking about the retirement, I think I've never spoken about retirement, and if I do retire, I won't make an announcement. I'll just fade away. This whole big deal, 'Oh, I'm going to retire!', it stinks of selling tickets."

John touches on the tension with Stewart in the new paperback edition of his memoir, Me, which features a new bonus chapter. Per U.K.'s The Sun, Sir Elton writes, "I certainly didn’t feel like I needed a lecture on the feral spirit of rock and roll from someone who’d spent most of the last decade crooning his way through the Great American Songbook and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. What’s more, I thought he had a f---ing cheek, complaining about me promoting a tour while he was sat on a TV show promoting his own tour."

The Sun notes that months after Stewart's comments, John "...sent his rival a message saying he loved him and they had 'known each other far too long to fall out over something like that'." However, John said he didn't receive an immediate response but later heard from Stewart's manager saying he was on "constant vocal rest" during his then tour and couldn't speak on the phone. John noted that Stewart's need for vocal rest didn't stop him from making additional talk show appearances.

Sir Elton added in the new chapter, "I had no idea what I’d done to upset him so much. Which was ironic, given the hours I’d put in over the years deliberately trying to annoy him."

The Sun also noted Sir Rod saying the producers of Watch What Happens Live, "They make sure you get drunk before you go on. Four big shots of neat vodka and with me being a butch man, I knocked them all back. I said that 300 dates in three years sounded a bit money-grabbing to me. Look, I know where’s he’s coming from. He’s just got two kids very, very late in life but I’m planning my tours around my kids. I think he’ll miss it. I can’t wait for the next show."

Here's hoping these two British divas icons will figure out a way to kiss and make up.