Sir Elton John stunned Pose fans at a Los Angeles drive-in event on Saturday by dropping by to gush about the TV drama.
TV mogul Ryan Murphy introduced the musician and his husband, producer David Furnish, to the audience at the For Your Consideration panel at the Rose Bowl, after revealing the two empty chairs onstage had been saved for two huge Pose fans who "wanted to rearrange their vacation to be here".
Elton and David joined stars Billy Porter and Mj Rodriguez, and Murphy's show co-creator and executive producer Steven Canals to take part in a discussion about the series, which is set amid New York City's gender-nonconforming drag ball culture scene in the 1980s and early 1990s, and tackles the AIDS epidemic and its impact on the LGBTQ community.
During the event, Elton discussed the drive behind his namesake AIDS Foundation, and revealed he could relate to the journey of actress Dominique Jackson's onscreen character as Elektra Evangelista.
"My motto is no one gets left behind. No one should be left behind, no sex worker, no prisoner, no trans person, no intravenous drug user, no gay people. We have to embrace all of us, we have to embrace everybody. And this is exactly why I love this programme so much," he explained.
"This programme touched me more than any other series because of the journey that these people are on. I mean, I am Elektra. I am totally Elektra."
The singer continued, "This is a series where you laugh and you cry and you get angry and you see people's journey and how they fight."
Elton also applauded Murphy for fighting for years to get Pose onscreen.
The admiration was mutual, as Murphy recalled how Elton's Philadelphia Freedom track from 1975 helped him to embrace his sexuality as a seven-year-old child.
"We were driving in the car, and Philadelphia Freedom came on the radio," the writer recalled.
"I was like, 'You know what, I'm just going to be me,' and I performed the s**t out of Philadelphia Freedom in the back seat of that car, and my father saw me for the first time, thanks to Elton John."
Pose is set to end after its third season, which premiered in the U.S. last month.
