Elton John said the remake of The Lion King ‘messed the music up’ and Beyonce fans are angry

Elton John is not a fan of the 2019 remake of The Lion King because they “messed the music up”.

After angering Michael Jackson fans last week, John is now facing the wrath of Beyonce’s notoriously ferocious “Beyhive” fanbase.

The songwriting legend had some harsh words for the remake, which was released with a soundtrack album produced and curated by Beyonce, in a recent interview.

John, who wrote the music for the 1994 animated film, told British GQ:

The new version of The Lion King was a huge disappointment to me, because I believe they messed the music up. Music was so much a part of the original and the music in the current film didn’t have the same impact. The magic and joy were lost. 

The soundtrack hasn’t had nearly the same impact in the charts that it had 25 years ago, when it was the bestselling album of the year. The new soundtrack fell out of the charts so quickly, despite the massive box-office success.”

He went on to say that he didn’t feel like he was “welcomed or treated with the same level of respect” as he was when making the 1994 film.

Those comments have obviously angered some Beyonce fans.

That last one is a bit unfair on Elton.

The songwriter also had some interesting thoughts about who is a “star” from the current generation of musicians.

To be a star, you have to last for 50 years. You have to be a Barbra Streisand. You have to be a Paul McCartney. You have to be Sting. You have to be Fleetwood Mac. You have to be The Who.

A line up that to pour further fuel on the accusations from Beyonce fans, admittedly, doesn't include any artists of colour - like Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie or Diana Ross, all of whom are still performing to sold out crowds today, the latter Diana Ross in fact being confirmed today as the first headline act for Glastonbury 2020.

Anyway, he added:

Christine And The Queens, in my opinion, is a huge star, but she hasn’t cracked it yet commercially.

The only real star at the moment is Lady Gaga. She could have a career like Barbra Streisand if she wanted to. She’s got the ambition, she’s got the talent coming out of every pore of her body, so it’s up to her whether she wants it and I think she does want it.

“Lady Gaga is the only real star” is a bold take in a world where Beyonce, Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Adele, Taylor Swift, Drake, Kanye West, Jay Z and more also exist.

But Elton did make "Bennie and the Jets" so I guess he's entitled to his opinion...