3. DMD
SH
FROMTHTHffiPRIDE TORONTO'S PARADE MARSHAL PUTS HIS CELEBRITY TO
WORK IN THE CAUSE OF HUMAI{ RIGHTS
BY PAUL GALLANT
(lt was John's second marriage; his first, to a woman, ended in 1988.)
Theirtwo children,Zachary,4, and Elijah,2, were conceived by in vitro
fertilization (lVF) with a donor egg and mixture of the couple's sperm,
prompting Furnish and John to call for a boycott of Dolce 6 Gabbana
earlier th is year when the ltalian designers suggested that IVF children
were "sVnthetic."
What kind of personality is required to be husband and business
partner with one of the world's most flamboyant celebrities?
Judging by //V's one-on-one with Furnish, it takes quiet confidence,
unflappability, an understated sense of style and a decidedly team-
^lrr'^v -++i+'ri^PrcyEr oLrrruuE.
l/l What was your gut reaction when you were invited to be Pride
Toronto's grand marshal?
DAVID FURNISH lt didn't take me very long to think about it. I was
very honoured. I grew up in Toronto and was largely based here until
avid Furnish lived a double life during his 20s in
Toronto, saying good-night to his girlfriend before
running off to Church Street in "the village." Though
he grew up in a Scarborough home where he knew
"only happiness and stability," he didn't trust that
gay life in Canada would work out for him. "l look back and know I
was running away," says Furnish, now a S2-year-old film and theatre
producer and chair of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
But the Prodigal Son is back, this time to lead Toronto's 2015 Pride
Parade as Crand Marshal.
Commanding the spotlight can't come easy when you're married to
one of the most famous people on the planet. Furnish and Elton John,
58, have been together since 1993, a relationship sealed by a 2005 civil
union (whatthe U.K. offered same-sexcouples atthetime) and a star-
studded wedding last December at their home in Windsor, England.
INMAGAZINE.€A 23
4. I was 27, then I kind of ran away. Sometimes you need a little distance to
appreciate things fully. l've seen Canada go through amazing political and
social change. I didn't think Canada was very cool when I left. lt got much
cooler while I was away.
lll What's your marshalling strategy?
DF l've never been in a parade before. I haven't picked out my wardrobe,
though a few people have offered to make me an outfit. l'lltryto be me, really.
A lot of my friends from the States and the U.K. are coming to support me.
lll ls there a particular message you'd like to get across?
DF What I would most like to draw attention to is the 81 countries in the
world where lesbians and gays are criminalized. 0n a human-rights level,
I'm appalled bV that. And then when you put these homophobic laws in
place, they create a culture of fear, stigmatizing people on the basis of their
sexuality. What happens is HIV/AIDS is associated with being a "gay disease."
People don't feel confident to present for an AIDS test, to reveal their status,
to pick up their medication or adhere to it. Not only is it wrong from a civil-
rights perspective, it's killing people, Elton and I met in the Oval 0ffice with
President Barack 0bama [last month], and that was the first thing we brought
uo with him.
..IryE
SEBI{CNADA
GOTTIROUGH
/J[/IAZII{GPOilNCAt
NDSOCNL
CHAI{GB. IDIDN'T
THINKCNADAWAS
VERYCOOLWTIEI{I
LBFT. ITGOTMTICH
COOLBRWHILBI
4ASAWAY''
lN Do you consider yourself a role model?
DF I guess I am, yeah. llaughs.]
llV Do you feel like a celebrity?
DF I was just up and down on the subway to see my parents, who live in a
retirement home in North York. Isit on the subway, and I'm absolutely, perfectly
fine. People don't come up and ask for a selfie. People don't run down the street
asking for mV autograph. I don't have that kind of celebrity, and I really don't
want that kind of celebrity.
t , I've seen paparazzi photos of you,
DF A paparazzi photo of David Furnish walking down the street is not
worth very much money. A paparazzi photo of David Furnish with Elton or
with his children orwith another celebrity or in what they may judge to be an
incriminating or embarrassing situation, the price goes up. But my value? | just
think l'm kind of a by-product. Elton is a global icon and a musical legend. I have
a lot of profile from my marriage to him and my association with him. Where
I have an opportunity to do something good with that, I'm very grateful for it.
llll How do you make time for family?
DF The golden rule for us is, unless we're out of town, that we never, ever
miss the boys' bath time and story time and putting them to bed at night.
24 IN MAGAZINE IUNE 2015
t
?
q
t WELL C0NNECTE0 t urnish, lop, wilh husband tltor lol^n, and above. wilh
U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
When we travel, we've been fortunate that we can tal(e the children with us.
You keep the routine consistent. When Elton was doing his show at Caesars
Palace in Las Vegas, we took an anteroom off his dressing room and convefted
it into a bath and bedtime area with an inflatable duck tub, a rocker-glider and
5. some storybool(s. They put on their pyjamas, they say good-night to Daddy,
and then Daddy goes on stage and does his show.
lN Are you the good cop dad or the bad rop?
DF I'm probably a tiny bit more practical in my approach with the children.
There are certain things with them that it's very difficult for Elton to do, out in
public, without it turning into a circus show. I'm the one who gets down on the
ground and gets really rough and tumble, kicking the football.
JJI'MPROBABLY
ATIMBITMORE
PRAGIICATINMT
APPROACHWTTTI
THB CHILDRENI.
I'MTHEOI{BWTIO
GETSDO4/|{OI{TTIE
GROT]IDNDGETS
RT$LYROTIGHAI{D
TT]MBT,F, KICKII{G
TTIE FOOTBAIL,"
lN Have you forgiven Dolce 6 Gabbana for their "synthetic" comments?
0F The reason they stung-and l'm not going to wade into a debate
with anybody on traditional families, because if you want to make those
judgements, history is going to prove you wrong-is that they were branding
any child born of IVF as being synthetic. lt is a crime to sticl( a label on a
child the same way it's wrong to stigmatize someone by their sexuality or
the colour of their skin, by their work, by their family bacl<ground, by their
income. I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with them and clear
the air.
lll Did your marriage last December change anything between you and
Elton?
DF The [2005] civil partnership sure changed things. We had no idea how
the world was goinq to respond to that, We didn't know if we were going
to get picketed or flour bombed, but we had a real outpouring of support.
The marriage this time around was less profound. lt was just so funny for
me to wake up the morning after, because when you've been together with
someone for 21 years, you don't wake up and think, "0h God, I hope I manied
the right person."
lll At least you can officially call each other "husband,"
0F lt still feels a little funny. I didn't want to be disrespectfulwhen lwas
a civil partner by referring to myself as a "husband," because I didn't want to
suggest it was total equality when it was not. But now I am his husband and
Elton is mine, Elton was onstage the other night. Hb said, "l have a wonderful
life with my partner-husband." When he came offstage ltold him, "You can
drop the'partner' part now."
TAIK BRCK Feel free to share your comments on ll{ or articles in the magazine by
emailing us at editor(alinmagazine.ca.
%HH$"*?#**
NEWYORK-TORONTO - LOS ANGELES - SAN FRANCISCO
Bespoke Matchmaking works with exceptional gay men and
lesbians who are ready to begin a loving relationship. Our
firm brings traditional matchmaking into the 21st century,
combining a highly personalized approach with an exclusive
network of eligible gay and Iesbian singles.
CONTACT US TODAY TO 5CH EDU LE
A COM PLI M ENTARY CONSU LTATION
1-888-422-6464
BespokeMatch ma ki n g.com
