Elton John says he has lost his eyesight

CNN
—

Elton John says he still cannot see, months after suffering a severe eye infection.

Speaking on stage at a gala performance of the “The Devil Wears Prada” musical in London on Sunday, John thanked his husband, David Furnish, saying he “has been my rock.”

“I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews because, as you know, I have lost my eyesight. So it’s hard for me to see it. But I love to hear it and, boy, it sounded good tonight,” said John, who wrote the score for the show.

In an interview with “Good Morning America” last week, John said the issue has been affecting his ability to work.

“I unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the south of France and it’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see, and my left eye is not the greatest,” he said.

“So, there’s hope and encouragement that it will be OK, but… I’m kind of stuck at the moment, because I can do something like this (the interview), but going into the studio and recording, I don’t know, because I can’t see a lyric for a start.”

John, who is 77, first spoke publicly about his sight problem in September, when he shared on his Instagram page that he had been “dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye.”

“I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye,” John wrote, before thanking the “excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family” for taking such good care of him.

“I have been quietly spending the summer recuperating at home,” he wrote, adding that he is “feeling positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery thus far.”

While John officially retired from touring in 2023 after decades of performing live, he wrote the music for the musical of “The Devil Wears Prada.” It is based on the 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger, which was also turned into a movie in 2006.