Ron "Don't Say Gay" DeSantis' relentless legislative crusade against the LGBTQ+ community appears to have been successful in stomping out one major source of queer joy for all Americans.
In the midst of winding down his epic Farewell Yellow Brick Road World Tour, Elton John has revealed he will no longer perform concert residencies in the United States because of the "growing swell of anger and homophobia" in America and specifically called out DeSantis' draconian anti-LGBTQ+ policies in Florida.
"It's all going pear-shaped in America," the British superstar told the UK outlet Radio Times. "There's violence, [discriminatory] laws enacted in Florida, which are disgraceful. There's a law now that, if you visit a doctor in Florida, they can refuse to treat you if you're gay, which I find just unbelievable."
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Back in May, DeSantis signed SB1580, a "license to discriminate" healthcare bill that will allow doctors to deny treatment to patients based on their moral and religious beliefs. The law is set to take effect on July 1.
And that's in addition to expanding his trademark "Don't Say Gay" education law to all grade levels, outlawing gender-affirming care for minors and making it a criminal offense if adults don't use the bathroom that corresponds with the sex they were assigned at birth.
"We seem to be going backwards. And that spreads. It's like a virus that the LGBTQ+ movement is suffering," John added. "I don't like it at all. It's a growing swell of anger and homophobia that's around America. I don't know if it's around Britain, because I haven't been here that much."
On Sunday, the 76-year-old will headline Britain's Glastonbury Music Festival and, after more than 300 dates and five years, will perform the final stop of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour on July 8th in Sweden.
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While John had said he was stepping back to spend more time with his husband, David Furnish, and their two sons, the Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner hadn't ruled out returning to the stage for impromptu residencies from time-to-time. But now he says that will never happen in Las Vegas or anywhere else in the 50 states.
"I said when I announced the farewell tour that maybe I would do a residency like Kate Bush did," he told the Radio Times in reference to the "Running Up That Hill" singer's surprise 22-night London residency in 2014.
"But not in America. I will not do it in America."
If its any consolation, DeSantis recently suffered a humiliating rebuke of one his anti-gay authoritarian edicts after The College Board rejected the Florida governor's demand to change portions of an AP psychology class that addresses gender identity and sexuality.
John had two successful Las Vegas residencies, The Red Piano from 2004 - 2009 and The Million Dollar Piano from 2011 - 2018, that earned over approximately $297.4 million.
His last US concert was November 20, 2022 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
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With a little easy listening and a lot of heart, this quartet raised millions for AIDS Research.