Elton John’s defence of Phillip Schofield slapped down by Dan Wootton

The 76-year-old added that a relationship between a man and a woman with the same age gap would not have garnered such attention.

Schofield stepped down from ITV and parted ways with agency YMU after admitting to the affair publicly.

Speaking on GB News, presenter Dan Wootton questioned the validity of John’s claims, saying it is a case of “using homophobia to get out of the situation.”

He said: "The first thing I'd say. I totally disagree that this is about homophobia."

Wootton, who is also gay, continued: "I just don't understand where the homophobia is here."

The Phillip Schofield fallout saw ITV announce an external review, while bosses were called to Parliament to give evidence regarding claims of a “toxic” workplace.

Schofield himself has suggested homophobia has motivated some of the criticism levelled at him, and has issued an apology statement on social media.

“It’s accepted by Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s not accepted in the gay world”, he claimed.

Elton John’s comments came as he slammed the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in the US, dubbing it “disgraceful”.

He said: “It’s all going pear shaped in America. There’s violence, [discriminatory] laws enacted in Florida, which are disgraceful.”

Legislation introduced by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis resulted in teachers being unable to give lessons about sexual orientation.

Doctors have also been given permission to deny treatments to LGBTQ+ teachers.

Sir Elton told the Radio Times that the hate community is “spreading like a virus”.

He spoke ahead of his historic performance at Glastonbury this weekend, which is set to mark his final UK show.