Elton John’s brother Geoff Dwight has criticised the way their family is depicted in the new biopic Rocketman.
Geoff has specifically taken issue with the way his father, Stanley Dwight, is portrayed in the film, insisting he was neither cold towards his family nor homophobic, despite what the character on screen may suggest.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Geoff said: “Dad had a big heart and he loved us all equally. He was incredibly proud of Elton and everything that he achieved.
“This coldness, it’s a million miles away from what Dad was like. He was a product of a time when men didn’t go around hugging each other and showing their feelings every minute of every day, but he had plenty of love in him for all of us.”
Referring to a scene in which a young Elton is reprimanded for looking at dresses with his female relatives in a magazine, Geoff added: “Dad didn’t have a homophobic bone in his body. When Elton came out, he didn’t care – [he] didn’t even mention it because it wasn’t important to him.”
Geoff and Elton are now estranged, having only spoken once since their father’s death in 1991.
Rocketman tells the story of Elton’s early years and rise to fame, and was directed by Dexter Fletcher, who was brought in to finish the Oscar-winning Freddie Mercury Bohemian Rhapsody when filmmaker Bryan Singer left the project towards the end of production.
Elton has praised the project on multiple occasions, writing in The Guardian that it took him just 15 minutes into the film to start crying.