Elton John: People need to know about AIDS

Reuters 2012-10-16

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STORY: Sir Elton John's commitment to HIV/AIDS is as strong as ever as his celebrated his AIDS foundation's 20th anniversary.

John, along with his partner David Furnish, attended their annual An Enduring Vision Benefit in New York on Monday (October 15). On the red carpet Furnish said that the big push now is too erase the stigma associated with the disease.

John and Furnish said the cycle of education will never end.

"There is always a new young generation of people coming along and they didn't live through what we did in the 80's and what we saw and how this disease impacted people's lives, and they don't really understand the history of HIV and AIDS," said Furnish.

"They don't understand the horror of this disease and what it can do, what it did to people, how it ostracized them, how they got shunned away from society. We have to educate those people, they need to know," added John.

The English native called on his friend, journalist Anderson Cooper to host and singer Stevie Nicks to serve as the night's entertainment.

A slew of John's famous friends also came out to support, including Brooke Shields, Courtney Love, and actor Alan Cumming.

"I've always been a supporter of the foundation and this is a great celebration and there is still a long way to go. And it's always a fun party and it's lovely to see people who support Elton. And I just think Elton is a great person in the world," said Cumming.

The Elton John Foundation has headquarters in both the U.S. and the U.K. Last year the event raised over $2 million USD for HIV/AIDS prevention, research, support services and awareness campaigns.

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