Elton John thanked Jay-Z for marriage equality support

Sir Elton John made a personal phone call to rapper Jay-Z to thank him for his support for marriage equality.

In May, Jay-Z announced he agreed with President Obama’s position on allowing gay couples to marry, saying: “What people do in their own homes is their business… It’s no different than discriminating against blacks. It’s discrimination plain and simple.”

Speaking to MSNBC, Sir Elton said: “Jay Z, who’s probably the most respected African-American artist, came out and said not only is it wrong to not have gay marriage, but any discrimination in life is wrong.

“It was an incredibly moving statement. I phoned him up in England and said, ‘You have no idea what you’ve just said, how powerful this is.”

He added: “The African-American society were a little apprehensive about this all along, and when you get someone who is a role model like Jay Z to come out and say this… I take my hat off to him and I respect him so much for doing that.”

The veteran singer added: “When I next see him I’m going to give him the biggest hug.”