Gay stigma and shame is still rife, says Elton John

Los Angeles, July 30 (IANS) Singer Elton John feels sad that there is still so much "shame" and stigma around being gay.

The 70-year-old, who has sons Zachary and Elijah with partner David Furnish, thinks LGBTQ people are all too often simply "tolerated" rather than being "accepted", reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Asked the biggest problem facing young gay people, John told Grazia magazine: "Tragically it is still shame. Too often LGBT people are tolerated rather than accepted, let alone embraced."

He added: "When almost half of all gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual pupils are bullied at school and, as a result, more than 60 per cent self-harm and 40 per cent of trans people have tried to take their own life, it's a serious wake-up call that gay stigma and shame are still poisonous."