Jacinda Ardern 'humbled' and 'flattered' by Sir Elton John's professed admiration of her

Jacinda Ardern is feeling "humbled", "flattered" and "more than a little surprised" by pop legend Sir Elton John's professed admiration of her. 

The Prime Minister was asked how she felt when Sir John revealed over the weekend that if he could be any woman alive, it would be her. 

"You don't often hear someone of his standing and his role wanting to be a politician... There's very few that I ever hear putting their hand up for that," Ardern said. 

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"I was genuinely humbled and flattered and more than a little surprised... I was very humbled by it."

Sir John, known for hits like 'Rocket Man', revealed his admiration for Ardern when he was asked a number of random questions in an A-lister Q&A, ahead of the release of his autobiography Me.

Among the celebrities to put a question to Sir John was Suicide Squad actor and model Cara Delevigne, who asked him: "If you could be one woman alive and one woman from the past, who would you be?" 

Sir John said while it was difficult to choose someone today with "so many candidates", he chose Ardern because she's "one of the few politicians that I respect and love". 

He described the Prime Minister as "humane" with "dignity", and said she's "doing a brilliant job". 

In a nod to Sir John's award-winning soundtrack for the 1994 animated film The Lion King, which featured a song called 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight', Ardern was asked by a member of the Press Gallery: "Can you feel the love tonight?"

She replied: "You will not be getting a bar from me."

Sir John is among a list of high-profile global celebrities - including Oprah Winfrey, Chelsea Handler and Renée Zellweger - to commend Ardern for her leadership following the Christchurch terror attack. 

Ardern said she's not ruling out attending an Elton John concert when he plays in Auckland and Dunedin in February next year. 

Newshub.