London (AFP) – Angry pop star Elton John denounced before the British courts on Friday the "odious" attacks on his private life committed, according to him, by the tabloid Daily Mail, referring in particular to "hacking" of his telephone lines.

Published on: 02/06/2026 - 2:17 p.m.

The singer of "Your Song" and "Rocket Man" is one, along with her husband David Furnish and Prince Harry, of seven plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), owner of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday.

They accuse these tabloids of having illegally obtained private information, which ANL denies.

Before the High Court in London, where Elton John appeared by video link for just over half an hour, the pop legend did not hide his anger.

Wearing a green suit jacket and blue shirt, he said the trial was about "the most heinous things in the world that one can experience from a privacy perspective."

The 78-year-old singer calls into question articles published between 2000 and 2015.

“We have three landlines and they were all hacked, including the junction box at the end of our street,” the star said. It made me “furious”, he added, believing that he and his husband had “suffered an injustice”.

He also said he did not understand the “seriousness of the facts” when the articles were published.

“Abject”

In his written testimony, of which journalists obtained a copy, Elton John also spoke of the "abject (...) intrusion" of these tabloids in his health matters and at the time of the birth of his first son Zachary.

Thursday, during his testimony before the Court, David Furnish returned to the publication in December 2010 of their son's birth certificate.

David Furnish also mentioned a detailed article published in 2015 on medical problems that Elton John had in Monaco.

ANL's lawyers argued in their written conclusions that the information published by the tabloids came from relatives of the personalities who brought this legal action.

“Their friends, as well as friends of their friends or associates, regularly provided information to the press on the private lives of the plaintiffs (...) in a confidential manner,” the lawyers indicate.

They also claimed that Elton John's spokesperson "regularly provided the media, including ANL journalists, with information" about the couple's lives, including medical information.

The spokesperson in question “no longer works for us,” Elton John told the court. “My friends don’t talk to the press and that’s why they remain my friends,” he also said.

“For people who live in the spotlight, it is essential to have safe spaces where privacy is respected,” he also underlined in his written testimony.

Prince Harry, who lives in California, testified in court on January 21. Emotionally, he accused the tabloids of having made the life of his wife Meghan “hellish”.

The next day, Elizabeth Hurley tearfully accused these newspapers of having placed microphones on the windows of her house.

The ANL group rejects the accusations against it and assures that the tabloids used “legitimate” sources for their articles.

The trial opened on January 19 for an expected duration of nine weeks.

© 2026 AFP

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