Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish have accepted “significant” damages after a newspaper alleged that their dog inflicted “Freddy Krueger-like injuries” on a child.
The story, which ran as a front page feature in The Sun, was accused of being “false and seriously defamatory” by the couple’s solicitor.
The article alleged that John’s spaniel dog bit a five-year-old-girl at his Berkshire home in February 2016.
Solicitor Jenny Afia said the story claimed the child had been “subjected to a serious attack” and that both John and Furnish had “failed in any attempt to find out how little girl was… despite being aware of the incident.”
According to the BBC, Mr Justice Matthew Nicklin was told: “The truth is that the injuries were not serious, and the claimants, far from ignoring the incident, made several inquiries about the girl’s welfare to her father and nanny…Each time it was confirmed the girl was fine.”
“I am pleased to say that the newspaper has now accepted unequivocally that this allegation was false and seriously defamatory…As a result, it has agreed now to apologise to Sir Elton John and David Furnish, and to pay significant damages as well as to reimburse their legal costs.”
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Meanwhile, Jeffrey Smele, solicitor for News Group Newspapers said: “The defendant offers its apology to the claimants and is pleased that the matter has been amicably resolved.”
The music icon will play shows in Hove and Cardiff in June 2019, after announcing plans for his final ever tour earlier this year. You can buy tickets here.
Sun June 09 2019 – HOVE Central County Ground
Wed June 12 2019 – DUBLIN 3Arena
Thu June 13 2019 – DUBLIN 3Arena
Sat June 15 2019 – CARDIFF City Stadium