Why Elton John Doesn't Like Reality Stars

Let's be clear: it's really easy to rag on reality TV "stars." It's something of a passé tradition at this point to denounce reality TV as a parade of talentless, dime-store hacks being filmed while being unnecessarily dramatic. This is a perspective shared by the legendary Rocketman himself, Sir Elton John. Or as Sir Elton said, per Digital Spy, "We see enough misery in the newspapers every day without having to tune in to some poor c**t boiling an egg in EastEnders and having his f**king head chopped off because his wife doesn't like him." 

According to the Daily Mail, he said reality TV series are, "vacuous, talentless, horror shows." 

On Kruz 103.3, Sir Elton said "... With reality television, you get all these nightmare people wanting to be successful, when you really want them to be assassinated." 

Or, as he more mildly told the Evening Standard, "You've got to work for it and the people that don't work for it and get it instantaneously are the ones that go pfft."

Well. That is some seriously savage stuff. It's easy to see his point, though. And as for his own cachet, he's has sold 300 million records worldwide, has 38 platinum albums, 26 gold, over 50 Top-40 hits, and his song "Candle in the Wind," written for the late Princess Diana, is the highest-selling single of all time at 33 million copies, per Marshall Arts. Is it any wonder why he'd balk at some random casting-call dude on Love Island being referred to as a "celebrity"? 

Born in 1947 in Middlesex, England, as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, Elton John was a child piano prodigy who was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at a mere 11 years old, per Encyclopedia Britannica. That doesn't mean he coasted through life, though; quite the contrary. His work ethic was matched only by his musical talents and he was a stunning, charismatic performer who unabashedly embraced his queer identity in an era in which that was unheard of. All in all, Elton John is a rare example of an artist who deserves every accolade he's ever received.

This, really, is at the heart of why Elton can't stand reality TV or its personalities: they're examples of people getting something for nothing, while producing nothing artistically relevant. They don't deserve to be celebrated in the same echelon as someone "at the top of his game." 

In fact, Elton said of his younger days, "The word 'celebrity' didn't exist, you were either successful or not." 

Whether this sounds like an ego trip or not, he definitely has a point.

As Ultimate Classic Guitar reported, Elton's opinion of musical reality TV stars, like those who appear on American Idol, is a bit more mellow. 

"The type of celebrity that television shows give you these days, without the experience of playing live, means you are just thrown to the wolves," he concluded.