Elton John thought that remarks he made about Madonna in an Australian TV interview — he called her a "c*nt" and a "f**king fairground stripper", were off the record, according to an entertainment reporter on Radio 3AW’s Breakfast Show:
3AW's entertainment reporter Peter Ford told Ross and John he had been contacted by Elton John's publicity team, first saying the claims made by Molly Meldrum were rubbish. Pete Ford said after telling Elton John's representative that the claims had aired on television, he was told that the conversation was allegedly 'off-the-record'.
"Elton's been around long enough to know that if there's a camera there and someone's standing behind it with a red light on… It's still being recorded," Peter Ford told 3AW Breakfast.
Speaking with 3AW Breakfast, Molly Meldrum said he was taken aback by Elton John's comments attacking Madonna.
"I love Elton, but when he launched into Madonna I slightly went into shock because Madonna also is a friend of mine," Molly Meldrum told Ross and John. "But I have to say that she has been very naughty of late."
Peter Ford said Molly Meldrum had a good enough relationship with Elton John to not do the wrong thing by him.