Renate Blauel, Elton John's ex-wife, is suing the rock icon for damages relating to their 1988 divorce agreement.
According to Blauel's filing, the lawsuit stems from passages in Elton John's 2019 memoir, 'Me', and scenes from the accompanying biopic movie, 'Rocketman', that violated a privacy agreement in their divorce. The disclosures in both the memoir and the movie triggered long-standing mental health issues for Blauel, according to the legal filing.
For their part, Elton John's defence team acknowledges the agreement, which both parties signed, but denied there were any breaches or causing "psychological harm." As well as this, the defence team also claims that Elton John removed several passages relating to Blauel from the book, with her only appearing in a total of 8 pages out of 376.
While Elton John speaks of his ex-wife in glowing terms in the book, Blauel claims that he "seriously misrepresented the nature of their relationship" in the passages and pages that remained in the book. Blauel's lawyer, Yisrael Hiller, also told the BBC that the movie, 'Rocketman', was also particularly upsetting.
"Renate wants the privacy that was promised to her - that is why she is seeking an injunction. Any claim for monetary relief is secondary, and would just cover damages and future expenses caused by Elton's breaches," Hiller told the BBC.
Blauel and John were married for four years, divorcing in 1988. John eventually married his longtime partner, David Furnish, in 2014.
