Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne were among the black-tie guests making their way past cops, Secret Service agents and bomb-sniffing dogs surrounding the Waldorf-Astoria Tuesday night.
"Are you here to see the President?" one member of the security detail asked Ozzy and Sharon.
"No," said Sharon. "We're here to see the Queen!"
By that, she meant Sir Elton John. The Rocket Man was gathering his court for the Elton John AIDS Foundation's gala the very night President Bush was meeting with world leaders. Since he was sharing the hotel with Dubya, we asked Elton if he thought the Bush administration had made good on his grand plan to fight AIDS.
"They've made a grave error in giving millions to abstinence programs," he told us. "They don't work. They were told in the beginning that it wouldn't work. It's a tragic waste of money. Please don't listen to those idiots. God almighty."
And did he have a message for other leaders gathered at the UN, particularly South African President Thabo Mbeki, whom Elton said should be "ashamed" of his AIDS policy. (Mbeki has supported his health minister, who says garlic, beetroots, lemon and olive oil are better than antiretroviral medicines in treating AIDS.)
"There are some weird people in the world — what can I say?" said Elton. "I would just tell them, 'Don't let the AIDS crisis get lost.'" He mentioned that his foundation's latest target is the Caribbean, where "men who have sex with men [are] a highly stigmatized group, especially among reggae singers."
The evening was emceed by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, who said he was looking forward to Elton performing with k.d. lang.
"I offered to do some interpretive dance," said Cooper. "But after a brief audition, I was told my services wouldn't be required."
Turning serious, Cooper went on: "I talk to young gay friends in New York, and some of them seem to think the AIDS problem is a thing of the past. … The reality is that it's getting worse, not better."
Also at the benefit, which raised over $2.25 million, were Elton's partner, David Furnish, Uma Thurman (with former Elle Macpherson beau Arky Busson), Petra Nemcova, Tommy Hilfiger, Milos Forman, Susan Lucci, Andrew Cuomo and Stephen Schwartzman. Honored with Enduring Vision awards were the Osbournes, candle king Harry Slatkin and Chopard co-president Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele.
As usual, Elton was his outspoken self. He defended that Nan Goldin photo that he'd loaned to a British gallery and which police seized on Tuesday to investigate as a possible breach of child pornography laws.
"I never cease to be amazed by people," said the musician, who noted on his Web site that the photo of two naked girls "has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world."
He also had some thoughts on the meal's first course — mozzarella balls in a Parmesan tostada.
"It's being sent to the Food and Drug Administration to find out what it was," he told guests. "It qualifies as the worst food I've ever seen at an event like this. My sincere apologies
there are some nice photos on www.gettyimages.com
reviews and more video, etc. msn langisms http://groups.msn.com/langisms
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