Elton John lost the Golden Globe for “Best Song” to Madonna. And dear God, was he pissed, as was his husband, David Furnish. While Elton simply let his bitchface do the talking, David Furnish went on a rampage regarding Madge’s win – he gave quotes to media outlets (“Did Madonna get the Golden Globe because she attended the awards and agreed be a presenter? The award should have gone to Mary J. Blige or Elton. I like Madonna’s music, but not her movies. She should stick to what she is good at.”) and then he took to Facebook to blast Madge – “Madonna. Best song???? F**k off!!! Madonna winning Best Original Song truly shows how these awards have nothing to do with merit. Her acceptance speech was embarrassing in its narcissism…”

So, it was ugly. And Madonna kept her head up, surprisingly enough, and simply told the press that she hoped she and Elton weren’t fighting (again). Well, now that several days have passed, David Furnish has finally decided to bury the hatchet. Except he’s blaming all of us for blowing his words out of proportion. Yes, because WE are the ones with issues.

David Furnish has described his and Elton John’s spat with Madonna over the Golden Globes as “a tempest in a teapot.”

After blasting Madge as “desperate” and “narcissistic” after she beat Elton for Best Original Song, a not fully apologetic Furnish wrote on Facebook, “Wow! What a tempest in a teapot. My comments regarding the Golden Globes have been blown way out of proportion. My passion for our film ‘Gnomeo & Juliet’ and belief in Elton’s song really got my emotional juices going. But I must say for the record that I do believe Madonna is a great artist, and that Elton and I wish her all the best for next week’s premiere of the film ‘W.E.’ ”

[From Page Six]

Yeah, right. I wonder why David is changing his tune so suddenly? Did Madonna call Elton and tell him to get a grip? Did Elton realize that David probably wasn’t helping his (Elton’s) Oscar campaign? Or did David – who is 49 years old – realize he was acting like a gigantic baby? Let me clear – I think Madonna’s Globe win was terrible and undeserved too, and I think Madge deserves a lot of scorn for a lot of stuff, but really, does it matter? Madonna doesn’t matter anymore, and by picking a fight with her, it just makes her seem more sympathetic and professional (by comparison).

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Alright, as I’m sure you’ve already heard, Elton John and Madonna are back to bitch-fighting. I think they hated each other for several years, and then made up, but Madonna’s win at the Golden Globes just heated everything up all over again, and Elton’s husband David Furnish has even gotten into the mix. So… I’m going to do this in chronological order.

*Madonna, Elton John and Mary J. Blige were up against each other for “Best Song” at the Globes. When asked about Madonna’s chances on the Globes red carpet, Elton said Madge had “no f–king chance of winning.”

*Madonna wins Best Song. I’m just including video of the whole mess below – note the camera pan to Elton’s bitchface during Madge’s speech. Note Madge’s weird accent. Note how many times she uses “me, I, or my.”

*Elton was so obviously unhappy with the turn of events that Madonna had to take questions about Elton backstage, when she talked to the press. (Incidentally, Mary J. Blige was shooting eye-daggers at Madge too, but no one is discussing that). When asked about Elton, she said, “I hope he speaks to me for the next couple of years. He’s been known to get mad at me so I don’t know. He’s brilliant and I adore him so he’ll win another award. I don’t feel bad!”

*Chronologically, David then went to the Globes after-parties with Elton, and David was telling every reporter he could find about his Madonna-hatred. He told Page Six, “I think it was a fluke . . . When this happens you have to question the integrity of the awards. Did Madonna get the Golden Globe because she attended the awards and agreed be a presenter? Can you sing Madonna’s song? Can you hum it? It’s a song nobody has heard, from a film few have seen. The award should have gone to Mary J. Blige or Elton. I like Madonna’s music, but not her movies. She should stick to what she is good at.” A source close to Madonna tells Page Six, “W.E. has not officially opened . . . so [it is] accurate that many people haven’t seen it yet. There was no deal made about an award for her attending.”

*David then went into a Facebook rant after the Globes. He wrote: “Madonna. Best song???? F**k off!!! Madonna winning Best Original Song truly shows how these awards have nothing to do with merit. Her acceptance speech was embarrassing in its narcissism… And her criticism of Gaga shows how desperate she really is.” David was referring to Madge’s 20/20 interview, where she said Gaga was “reductive.”

So… that’s the bitch-fight. It seems like David is the one who is really pissed off, but you know Elton is the bitchy puppet-master. As for the legitimacy of Madonna’s win – look, it’s the Golden Globes. I just don’t believe any of the awards are really that scientific. And I have to say… even though Madonna’s victory and acceptance speech was really depressing, she’s the one acting like a professional. Elton and David are acting like gigantic babies.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

Since you guys seemed to enjoy yesterday’s photos of Elton John and David Furnish’s big gay vacation, here are even more pics. Elton, David and their baby Zachary are currently in St. Tropez where they are partying and hanging out with Neil Patrick Harris and his partner, David Burtka and their twins.

According to People Mag, the two families went for a cruise around the Italian Mediterranean, stopped in Portofino for gelato, and then returned to St. Tropez. Throughout the trip, NPH and Burtka each held on to a baby (I have no idea which is which), while Elton’s partner David Furnish held on to Zachary. Leaving Elton the odd-man-out, baby-holding-wise. This is my favorite part of the People story:

“It took a bit of organization,” one source tells PEOPLE, “because they had to come ashore by launch. And that has to be done very carefully with infants.”

After arranging the three children in sun caps and pint-sized life jackets, the group disembarked their yacht, loaded up a Zodiac craft from St. Tropez beach restaurant Club 55 at noon and sailed to the wooden pier at Pampelonne Beach – where dozens of locals had gathered to see them come ashore.

[From People]

Sun caps and “pint-sized life jackets”. WANT. So cute.

You know what this makes me nostalgic for? Will & Grace. I loved that show! Remember when Elton John came on the head of the Gay Mafia? I feel like that’s for real. NPH and Elton are the de facto heads of the (fabulous) Gay Mafia and seeing them vacation together with their babies… it’s all so amazing. I bet they’re plotting their takeover.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

I had kind of forgotten that Elton John and David Furnish were fathers now. Their baby boy, Zachary Jackson Levon, was born right around Christmas last year, which makes him seven months old now. These are photos of Elton, David and Zachary in St. Tropez today. I like that David is carrying him, just because… I’ve always thought that David was the one who wanted to be a dad. I don’t mean that in a harsh way or anything, and I’m not calling Elton a bad father. I just think that Elton was pretty happy with the way his life was, but that David wanted a baby and Elton went along. Soon after Zachary came along, Elton let it be known that they had already hired a bunch of nannies, that Zachary already had his own apartment, and that he (Elton) was already going back on tour.

I will say this – Zachary is super-cute! That is one chubby, adorable baby. My favorite baby (currently) is still Flynn Kerr-Bloom (he just looks gigantic and happy!), but Zachary is totally a doll. I think David looks great with him too – they look bonded and happy together. Elton seems more like, “Er, okay, what now?”

Oh – and Elton, David and Zachary are vacationing with Neil Patrick Harris, David Burthka and their twins. OMG! So many gay men, so many babies! I think Rick Santorum’s head just exploded.

PS… Zachary looks like Elton, right? Or am I imagining that?

Photos courtesy of Fame.

At some point, Elton John became the den-mother to all of the broken, drunken, and drugged-out musicians in the world. Elton famously battled his own addictions, and now he steps in and speaks out when he thinks he sees another celebrity who is going down the path of addiction. Eminem memorably gave Elton credit when Em spoke about his own rehab and recovery – Em and Elton are tight now, and Elton was one of the people who encouraged Em to get clean. And now Elton is stepping up for another friend – Billy Joel. Billy and Elton have done tours together, and I believe that they are close friends in real life. Now, Billy Joel has, like, a million DUIs and various incidents of drunken shenanigans. It’s been going on for years, and now Elton is stepping up – in a new Rolling Stone interview – to say that Billy needs rehab, and he needs to take it seriously.

Elton John says Billy Joel needs to get serious about rehab and “do something better” with his life. John makes the comments about his former touring partner in the Feb. 17 edition of Rolling Stone magazine. He tells the magazine the pair canceled many tours because of Joel’s illnesses and “alcoholism.”

He also says Joel should do rehab like he did it – with patients cleaning floors, not watching television.

John says he knows Joel is going to “hate” him for this. But he says Joel needs tough love.

Joel spent a month in a California rehab center for treatment of alcohol abuse in 2005. He spent about two weeks at a Connecticut facility in 2002.

A representative for Joel hasn’t returned an Associated Press e-mail request for comment on John’s remarks.

[From The Huffington Post]

Billy Joel is 61 years old… which is younger than I was expecting. I really thought he was in his late 60s or early 70s! That’s what alcoholism does to you, children. It ages you like a mofo. Anyway, my point about Billy being 61 years old: perhaps he thinks he’s just too old to start a new, sober life? Perhaps he just wants to go out in an alcoholic blaze of glory? I’m not making excuses, I’m just saying that it might have been more interesting if Elton had stepped up years ago.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Last week’s US Weekly cover featured a smiling Elton John and his longterm partner, David Furnish, cradling their newborn baby, Zachary. It was an adorable photo and as Kaiser pointed out it was groundbreaking in that it was the first cover photo on a major celebrity glossy featuring a same sex couple with their baby. (Ricky Martin and Clay Aiken have both had covers with their babies, but they were featured alone without a partner.) Not everyone was pleased about John and Furnish’s adorable US cover, however, and a grocery store in Arkansas, Harps, put a “family shield” cover on the magazine to protect little kids from the frightening image of two men and a baby. It seems to be the case that just a single store did this, that it wasn’t a general policy, and a spokesperson told GLAAD that people at that store complained and that the family shield thing had nothing to do with corporate policy. After this controversy came to light, the shield has since been removed. The new US Weekly magazine is out later today and features Sandra Bullock. The inset photo of Jesse James and Kat Von D fawning over each other is potentially more damaging to little hearts and minds than this.

A Harps supermarket in Mountain View, Ark., censored an Us Weekly cover featuring Elton John, husband David Furnish and their new baby, Zachary. Deemed inappropriate for “young Harps shoppers,” the store placed a “family shield” in front of the magazine.

Twitter user @jennhudd saw the censored cover and began tweeting a photo to celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Anderson Cooper and Neil Patrick Harris, asking them to “bring attention” to the store’s decision.

The Mountain View Harps responded to a call from PopEater on Wednesday afternoon with a curt “no comment” before hanging up. A call to the corporate office had us placed on hold, redirected and sent to a voice mail when asked for official comment.

CoverAwards.com had better luck speaking to Harps — a cashier told the site Harps was “in a no-win situation” as children being shielded from the magazine cover would “have to know at some point [about gay families].”

PopEater’s Naughty But Nice Rob Shuter reported that the Elton John cover sold poorly and wondered if America wasn’t ready for “two men and a baby.” Now he calls the censorship “very sad,” asking, “We can let our families watch ‘Jersey Shore’ but not see a picture of Elton, his partner and their beautful baby boy?”

After originating the picture of the censored cover, @jennhudd reported the “family shields” had been removed, likely as a result of the Internet’s interest in the issue. Jennifer sent a series of tweets suggesting offended parties call the Harps office and file complaints.

[From Popeater]

It’s great that people can use the Internet so effectively to rally around causes. Something like this may seem insignificant, but when a local grocery store gets called out by the media it sends a message worldwide that this kind of blatant prejudice is not acceptable.

Also, I doubt that this issue didn’t sell well due to the same sex couple issue. I’ve read that covers with men on them don’t sell as well as women (I’m having a hard time finding that reference, but it’s true). While Elton may have a lot of fans, he’s not as sensational (or frankly – young) as the regular tabloid fare and it’s understandable that he might not move copies like a more dramatic story. Plus, your eyes focus on Furnish in that photo and he’s not very recognizable.

Elton John and David Furnish are introducing their new baby Zachary on dual covers this week – in England, they grace the cover of OK Magazine UK, and in America, they got Us Weekly’s cover. The quotes are the same for both – David and Elton talking about how lucky they are to have Zach in their lives, and how they haven’t given up hope of supporting and be in the lives of the two Ukrainian orphans they tried to adopt:

Meet Elton John and David Furnish’s tiny dancer! The couple shares the first photos of son Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly, out Wednesday.

As first revealed at UsMagazine.com, little Zachary was born via surrogate on Christmas Day 2010, weighing 7 pounds, 15 ounces.

“I’ve never felt anything like it in my life,” Grammy winner John, 63, tells Us of holding his son for the first time. “You’re so awestruck. What can you say? You take it in. The feeling, the joy, the warmth of his body, his breathing…I will never forget that experience ever.”

What kind of personality does little Zachary have? Gushes film director Furnish, 48, John’s partner of 17 years: “He’s a content little guy…He’s very peaceful…He just loves to be nurtured, cuddled, and sung to.”

The road to fatherhood has not been easy and the pair were heartbroken in 2009 after trying to adopt a 14-month Ukrainian orphan named Lev and his three-year-old HIV positive brother, Artyom.

Despite failing to adopt the two children the couple want to do everything they can to find them a home.

Elton says: “We’re still consulting about finding the best possible home for them.”

David adds: “We feel awful. We keep hitting red tape. But we’re not giving up until they’re out and in a safe, supported home.”

[From Us Weekly & OK Magazine]

Good for them, and congratulations to them. Is this the first time a male-male homosexual couple has debuted their baby on the cover of the weeklies? Let me think… when Neil Patrick Harris and his partner debuted their twins, it wasn’t a cover. I think Elton and David might be the first… right? So, groundbreakers and happy fathers. Cheers!

OK UK cover courtesy of OK UK’s site. Additional photo courtesy of WENN.

Back when Ricky Martin first had twins via surrogate, he told People Magazine that he was caring for both of his newborn boys without the help of a nanny. Martin presumably didn’t even have a partner at the time. He said “I’m doing this on my own because I don’t want to miss a moment. I have a personal assistant who helps me, someone who takes care of me while I’m taking care of them, but I’m the one who changes the diapers, the one that feeds them, the one that bathes them, the one that puts them to sleep. For any parent, the first couple of months tend to get a little bit intense.” (Clay Aiken said something similar about being a hands-on parent to his son.)

Unlike Ricky Martin, Elton John and his partner David Furnish don’t seem to be putting as much priority on daddy duty. The Daily Mail reports that their newborn Zachary, born via surrogate on Christmas day, has two nannies and lives in an adjacent apartment. It’s unclear whether the apartment is connected to theirs, but it’s next door. John and Furnish live in a luxury apartment in Los Angeles outfitted with modern furnishings and expensive art. You can see photos on Architectural Digest’s website. They’re said to be in the process of decorating the second apartment for their new baby while he’s being cared for there, but it’s not known whether they had a wall taken down or if they have to go out into the hall and use the door to visit him.

The Mail on Sunday has learned that Sir Elton, 63, and his partner David Furnish have appointed a top Hollywood interior designer to turn the flat beside their luxury home into a dream nursery.

Although the work is not yet finished, several months after it started, eight-day-old Zachary is already installed there, and looked after by round-the-clock nannies.

A New York television star who is a long-time friend of the couple said: ‘Elton and David have wanted this baby for a long time. They bought their first apartment in 2007 and then the following year they bought the smaller one next door.

‘Everyone originally thought they bought the smaller apartment because they wanted extra space, but then I found out they were trying to have a baby.

‘They haven’t said whether they have knocked the wall down between the two apartments but I must say at Elton’s age, I wouldn’t blame him if there is no adjoining door. Will he really want to be woken up at night by a screaming baby?

‘From what I understand the baby and his nannies are living in one apartment and Elton and David are living in another.’

The couple have hired ‘interior designer to the stars’ Martyn Lawrence-Bullard to decorate the baby’s apartment. Lawrence-Bullard, who also masterminded Sir Elton’s flat, was overheard telling a friend: ‘I am still decorating it. It is not quite finished yet.’

A source at the building, the 32-storey Sierra Towers, said last night: ‘It seems a slightly odd arrangement when you have waited so long to have a child. It certainly gives a new answer to the question: what do you give the baby who has everything? His own flat, of course.

‘Everyone in the building has been talking of nothing else but the baby all week.

‘Apparently he is seriously cute with wispy blond hair. He is in his own apartment with a Filipino lady and an African-American nurse, who are with him 24/7.’

Sir Elton’s spokesman Gary Farrow yesterday said of the baby’s sleeping arrangement: ‘It’s private. No comment.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Elton John is going on a five month world tour starting at the end of this month, but he’s only doing about four shows a month. I don’t blame these two for hiring help and expanding their place so that they have room for Zachary. It makes sense, and it doesn’t mean that they’re foisting off all his care onto the help. A lot of people go back to work after having babies. This story did strike me as kind of a large contrast to what both Ricky Martin and Clay Aiken said about caring for their sons.

Photos are from March and August, 2010. Credit: Fame Pictures

I’m actually very happy for Elton John and David Furnish – I think they wanted to become fathers for a while now, and it’s nice that they found a way to do it. They welcomed baby Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John on Christmas, a nice little late-in-life baby. You’d think that the two would be focused completely on little Zach, right? Not so much… Elton John already has a 26-city tour planned for Europe and America. Baby needs some new booties?

Sir Elton and his partner David Furnish became fathers for the first time on Christmas Day after Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John was born to an unnamed surrogate in California.

Despite their joy at the new arrival Sir Elton will be occupied with the demands of a 26-date tour of the US and Europe from January to June this year.

It will start in France on January 26 in Lievin, and finish in Ireland on June 11 including performances in Switzerland and Germany. The singer also has scheduled dates in the U.S. and Canada.

It has also been reported that the couple will still host their annual Oscars party in Hollywood on Feburary 21 this year.

Sir Elton announced the birth amid claims that he and Furnish may have paid an agency more than £100,000.

[From The Telegraph]

The gay-parenting thing doesn’t bother me in the least. I’m not even concerned with the age thing. But THIS bothers me. Why schedule all of this crap when you know when your baby is due? It’s like the Sarah Jessica Parker stuff all over again – you pay all of this money to get these beautiful babies, and you’re going to run all over working non-stop when the babies are newborns? SJP left her newborn twin girls for TWO MONTHS right after they were born. While Elton’s schedule doesn’t look that hideous, it’s still worrisome. BUT – considering the 26 dates are spread out over six months, maybe it will be fine? Ugh.

Also – David Furnish made a statement to Us Weekly about the Ukrainian baby that he and Elton tried to adopt last year:

Sir Elton John, 62, and partner David Furnish, 48, welcomed their son Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John on Dec. 25, UsMagazine.com exclusively reported Monday. “For many years we have talked about fulfilling one of our greatest wishes by becoming parents,” John tells Us. “And now this wish has been granted to us, we feel so blessed and lucky.”

The birth marks the realization of John and Furnish’s dream of becoming parents. Last fall, the couple visited an orphanage in the Ukraine and planned to adopt a 14-month-old boy named Lev and his HIV-positive brother Artyom. “David always wanted to adopt a child and I always said ‘no’ because I am 62 and I think because of the traveling I do and the life I have, maybe it wouldn’t be fair for the child,” John told reporters. “But having seen Lev today, I would love to adopt him. I don’t know how we do that but he has stolen my heart. And he has stolen David’s heart and it would be wonderful if we can have a home [together]“.

Earlier this year, their petition to adopt was declined by the Ukranian authorities, and Furnish told the BBC that they were “massively gutted” by the rejection. Since then, Furnish and John have worked tirelessly behind the scenes through Ukranian lawyers to find Lev and Artyom a happy home.

Furnish commented: “Although Ukranian law does not permit Elton and I to adopt Lev and Artyom, we are determined to give them the best chance of living a happy and healthy life with a loving Ukranian family. The arrival of our son has done nothing but strengthen our resolve to help these two wonderful children. We are, however, constrained by Ukranian policy and legal procedure, and this is why for the past 12 months we have retained a leading Ukranian law firm to assist us in this process.”

After being rejected in their adoption bid, John and Furnish decided to pursue their dream of becoming parents with the help of a surrogate. The couple have told Us that they wish to keep those details private.

Though Zachary is John and Furnish’s first child, the five-time Grammy winner and his partner have already had some parenting practice: between them, they have 6 godchildren, including John Lennon’s son, Sean; Elizabeth Hurley’s son, Damien; and David and Victoria Beckham’s sons Brooklyn and Romeo.

[From Us Weekly]

Elton has said before that he plans to leave his estate to his godchildren – but that was before he had a kid of his own. Do you think he’s already changing his will? Probably.

Ah, well. Best wishes to Elton, David and Zach.

This story just made me so happy. Elton John, 62, and his partner of 17 years David Furnish, 48, welcomed a newborn son this Christmas through a surrogate. Little Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and was born on December 25 in California. Elton and David say they plan to protect the identity of their surrogate and will not reveal further information about her. Here’s the story from US Weekly:

Sir Elton John and David Furnish have become parents to son Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, the couple tells UsMagazine.com exclusively.

The baby boy, who was born Dec. 25 in California via a surrogate, weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces.

“We are overwhelmed with happiness and joy at this very special moment,” John and Furnish tell Us in a joint statement. “Zachary is healthy and doing really well, and we are very proud and happy parents.”

This is the first child for John, 62, and Furnish, 48. The couple married in 2005 after 12 years together.

A rep for the couple has stated that they intend to protect and respect the privacy of their surrogate, and will not be discussing any details relating to the surrogacy arrangements.

[From US Weekly]

That’s so nice! I remember when these two were heartbroken that they weren’t eligible to adopt an HIV positive infant from the Ukraine that they bonded with while on a charity visit to his orphanage. That was just over a year ago, and David and Elton vowed to support the infant financially even though they couldn’t adopt the boy. (They didn’t meet the requirements that adoptive parents be married, since their union isn’t recognized under Ukranian adoption law, and no more than 45 years older than the child they’re adopting.)

Back in 2001, Elton spoke about how much he adored his godchildren, of which he has 10 including Brooklyn Beckham and Damian Hurley. He vowed to leave his fortune to them, and it looks like he’ll have another heir now. Congratulations to Elton and David on their new arrival! That’s got to be the most memorable Christmas.

Photos courtesy of WENN.