Legendary artist Sir Elton John has jumped to Phillip Schofield’s defence (Picture: Rex/Getty)

Sir Elton John has blasted the reaction to Phillip Schofield’s affair with a younger This Morning colleague, branding it ‘totally homophobic’.

Schofield resigned from his ITV jobs last month with immediate effect after admitting to the extramarital affair, which he claims was ‘unwise but not illegal.’ He was also dropped by his talent agency YMU.

While there has been an onslaught of backlash, legendary singer Sir Elton, 76, has defended the television star and claimed a heterosexual relationship with a similar age gap would not have attracted such negative coverage.

The acclaimed musician voiced his support of Schofield while denouncing the status of LGBT+ rights and individuals in America, which he likened to the treatment of the former This Morning presenter.

‘Well, it’s all going pear-shaped in America,’ he began. ‘There’s violence, (discriminatory) laws enacted in Florida, which are disgraceful.

Sir Elton has branded the onslaught of backlash towards the This Morning presenter ‘homophobic’ (Picture: Shutterstock)

‘There’s a law now that, if you visit a doctor in Florida, they can refuse to treat you if you’re gay, which I find just unbelievable.

‘We seem to be going backwards. And that spreads. It’s like a virus that the LGBTQ+ movement is suffering.’

Speaking to Radio Times, Sir Elton continued: ‘I don’t like it at all. It’s a growing swell of anger and homophobia that’s around America.

‘I don’t know if it’s around Britain because I haven’t been here that much. But I feel that the Phillip Schofield thing has been totally homophobic.

‘If it was a straight guy in a fling with a young woman, it wouldn’t even make the papers.’

Schofield stepped down from his roles at ITV with immediate effect last month (Picture: Rex)

Schofield, 61, previously said he had ‘lost everything’ after admitting to the affair, and that the backlash had a ‘catastrophic effect’ on his mind.

Speaking to the Sun, he also alleged that homophobia had motivated criticism towards him, and pointed out the differences in responses to his affair and Leonardo DiCaprio’s relationships with younger women.

‘Attraction is attraction,’ he said. ‘It’s no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world.

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‘There shouldn’t be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in. We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school (he attended).

‘So, yeah, there’s a difference. It’s accepted by Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s not accepted if it’s in the gay world.’

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‘I feel that the Phillip Schofield thing has been totally homophobic.’