Elton John has spoken out about being stopped from adopting a Ukrainian orphan in 2009 because he is gay.
The music icon and his husband David Furnish wanted to adopt a then 14-month old, HIV positive baby called Lev from an orphanage they visited. But they were told not to bother applying because Elton was too old and not married.
Ukrainian Family, Youth and Sports Minister Yuriy Pavlenko said at the time the adoption wasn't possible.
"Elton John will not be able to adopt a Ukrainian child and if he files that request we will unfortunately deny it," Pavlenko said. "The law is the same for everybody: for a president, for a minister, for Elton John."
Ukrainian law requires an adoptive parent to be no older than 45, significantly younger than then 62-year-old John. The law also requires parents to be married and Ukraine does not recognise gay union as marriage.
Speaking on pop star Dua Lipa's At Your Service podcast over the weekend, John said Lev inspired his interest in becoming a father.
"I was carrying this little boy around for hours. We had a press conference at the end and they said 'You seem very fond of this little boy. Would you think of adopting him?' and I went 'I'd actually love to!'
"Because I was gay, I wasn't allowed to anyway.
"After that happened, David said, 'Well, what do you think about having kids?' I always said no but this little boy was telling me something. He was saying 'C'mon you can be a dad,' and that's when we decided to have children, because of this little boy in Ukraine."
John and Furnish share two children, nine-year-old Elijah and 11-year-old Zachary.
Ukraine's dismissal of the couple sparked backlash at the time with the head of a leading gay rights organisation in Ukraine slamming the decision.
"If I were that child, I would feel very bitter and sad," said the head of Ukraine's Gay Forum Svyatoslav Sheremet.
