Why Elton John Calls His Dead Mother Sheila A "Sociopath" In New Memoir
This is a pretty harsh accusation!
Getty Images Relationships with mothers are nothing if not complicated, and the same is true for celebrity relationships with mothers. Elton John recently came forward to admit that his relationship with his mother is quite tricky and for a while, they weren't even speaking to one another! So who's Elton John's mom, and what's the status of her relationship with the singer today?
Elton John is a singer and songwriter who needs no introduction. His songs are the benchmark of an entire generation — "Rocket Man," "Tiny Dancer," and "The Bitch Is Back" are just a few of the many songs that John, alongside his writing partner, Bernie Taupin, made famous. His life was recently memorialized in the film, Rocket Man, which starred Taron Eggerton in the titular role, and in which we followed John through the highs and lows of his career. While not having anywhere near the emotional and critical impact as the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody — for which Rami Malek won an Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury — Rocket Man showed a whole new side of Elton John.
One side of Elton John that was depicted in Rocket Man that had never been seen before was a depiction of his relationship with his mother, Sheila Eileen Dwight. Portraying Sheila as a cold and callous woman, Elton John went on to say that he didn't speak to his mother for years.
Let's see what we else we know about Sheila Eileen Dwight, whom Elton John calls a sociopath in his new memoir, Me.
1. When he was on drugs, Elton John was a bit of a mess.
No mother ever wants to see their child in pain, and no mother certainly wants to see their child in the throes of addiction. But Yahoo reports that when John was deep in the throes of his addiction, he did many crazy things, and one such thing included crashing a Rolling Stones concert.
Not only was Elton's mother not happy, but Keith Richards also blew a gasket, too.
"John admits he was on cocaine during the show. Had that not been the case, 'I might have just performed ‘Honky Tonk Women,’ waved to the crowd and made my exit,' he says. But instead, 'I decided it was going so well, I’d stay on and jam along to the rest of their set, without first taking the precaution of asking the Stones if they wanted an auxiliary keyboard player,' John said, according to the outlet, before realizing that Keith Richards was ready to choke him.
2. But Elton John says his mother was cold and ruthless even when he was growing up.
"Bryce Dallas Howard played the part of [Sheila Eileen Dwight] in the film which charted John's life from childhood to his musical breakthrough and subsequent battles with addiction as well as his troubled family life," reported a different story for Yahoo, who added that Howard (daughter of director Ron Howard) portrayed Dwight as cold, distant, and ruthless towards John (whose real name is Reginald Dwight) and her other children.
3. Sheila Dwight referred to David Furnish as "that thing."
Parents don't always like their children's partners. But one thing you have to always make sure of as a parent is that you respect your children's partners (except in the case of abuse, addiction, or adultery).
But apparently, according to People, Sheila Dwight didn't get the memo, and when John got married to David Furnish, his mother couldn't hold her tongue anymore.
"Despite various entreaties to come into the house, they just sat there, stony-faced. There, Mum announced she wouldn’t be joining the convoy of cars setting off for Windsor nor would she be coming to the private lunch afterward.” Things quickly deteriorated from there. “Oh great,” John recalls thinking. “The most important day of my life and one of Mum’s moods appeared to be upon us," he wrote in his autobiography, before sharing that despite his best efforts to not fight with his mother, she proceeded to call David Furnish "that thing," and things got ugly from there.
4. He subsequently didn't speak to his mother for seven years.
According to Entertainment Tonight, after Sheila referred to David Furnish as "that thing," Elton refused to speak to her for more than 7 years. And though they would eventually rekindle their relationship, John said that his relationship with his mother was never the same after that.
5. Was Elton John's mom really that cold-blooded?
The Ultimate Classic Rock page has a slightly different take on Sheila's relationship with Elton. "In real life, Sheila and John spent most of her last years ignoring each other, with several reasons — most including accusations of preferring to be around other people — offered by close associates. And even though they seem to have settled their differences soon before her death, Sheila appeared to strike one more angry blow during her departure, amid suggestions that their relationship had always been unbalanced," reported the outlet, who added that right before her death, she and Elton John had another fight.
6. Elton John didn't just spill the tea on his mother.
According to Us Weekly, Elton John didn't just tell stories about his mother in his upcoming autobiography. The outlet reports that, in addition to acting like a fool at the Rolling Stones concert, he witnessed Queen Elizabeth smack her nephew in front of him. (That's a bit awkward.)
It should also be noted that during her lifetime, Princess Diana and Elton John were friends. So much so, in fact, that John recently attended Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle and lent the couple his private jet — which unfortunately was met with criticism. So it stands to reason that his relationship with the Queen is iffy, at best, considering how little the Queen and Princess Diana got along while she was still alive.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.