Elton John Snaps On GA Rep Betty Price

Piano Man Slays Comments from Doctor Turned Lawmaker in Georgia Asks State About HIV Quarantine

So Elton John is pissed, as are many of those living with HIV and supporters after Georgia Representative Betty Price embarrassed herself (or it should have embarrassed her) when she asked one of the State employees reporting on HIV in Georgia about the legality of quarantines for those living with HIV and AIDS.

In response to her comments, Elton John, founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, issued the following statement:

Elton John, Credit: Greg Gorman, 2014

“Rep. Betty Price’s comments about people living with HIV are horrific, discriminatory, and astonishingly ill-informed. As a doctor and elected official from a state where people are still contracting HIV at an alarming rate, Mrs. Price should know better than to demonize people and perpetuate myths that stigmatize people living with HIV.

Her words smack of a dark time when there was little or no information about HIV and people were afraid of each other. Today, thanks to scientific advancements, growing acceptance and love, people living with HIV are living longer, healthier lives. We also know people living with HIV pose no public threat.

We at the Elton John AIDS Foundation, along with several of our partners, are aggressively working in Georgia and across the South to expand access to universal testing and treatment, particularly in rural areas. We also are working to dismantle the structural barriers including poverty, inadequate education, persistent HIV stigma, racism, homophobia and transphobia that impede progress. Instead of perpetuating fear and bias, Mrs. Price should educate herself about HIV and use her position of power to provide support, resources and compassion to her constituents. Love is the cure. Not quarantines.”