Music legend Elton John was noticeably absent from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's lavish Venice wedding celebration after the billionaire reportedly balked at the singer's $6 million performance fee.
According to a source cited by columnist Rob Shuter, Bezos tried to negotiate the price but ultimately declined to book the "Rocketman" hitmaker for the ceremony.
"Elton doesn't do budget bookings," the source told Shuter via his Substack. "Jeff tried to negotiate, but Elton took his music and the paycheck elsewhere."
Instead, John performed at New England Patriots CEO Robert Kraft's Fourth of July party in Bridgehampton, New York, according to sources.
Dressed in a yellow suit and playing his iconic red piano, the 78-year-old singer reportedly delivered a complete hour-long set for Kraft and guests, including Jon Bon Jovi, Mike Tyson, Jerry Seinfeld, and Sylvester Stallone.
"He got his full fee," the insider added. "And everything else he wanted. Bezos may have passed, but Kraft made sure Elton left smiling."
John wasn't the only big name to reportedly distance himself from the Bezos-Sanchez wedding.
Sources said Lady Gaga had also been approached but declined over concerns that performing would damage her image, particularly given criticism of the event's environmental footprint and Bezos' treatment of Amazon workers.
"The Bezos wedding may be a giant payday, but it's hardly a great look for their 'do-gooder' reputations," a source previously told RadarOnline.com.
"Both Elton and Gaga have expressed worries about how performing at the ceremony may affect their respective brands, and they fear being labeled hypocrites."
A representative for Lady Gaga later denied she had been contracted to perform.
Some celebrities were also vocal after being left off the wedding guest list.
Actress Charlize Theron addressed the snub at a charity event, saying, "I think we might be the only people who did not get an invite to the Bezos wedding... but that's OK because they suck and we're cool."
Former NBC anchor Katie Couric also took a swipe at Sanchez's bridal look, commenting on social media, "Welcome to the eighties – when big hair and conspicuous consumption ruled. Apparently tacky is back." The post was later deleted.
Rosie O'Donnell was even more direct. Reacting to the wedding and a photo of Sanchez, O'Donnell wrote: "The BEZOS wedding.
It turned my stomach. Seeing all these billionaires. Gathering in the gross excess of it all. The show of it. Is Oprah friends with Jeff Bezos? Really – how is that possible?"
"He treats his employees with disdain. By any metric, he is not a nice man. And his fake fembot wife. Who looks like that? Why would he choose her?" O'Donnell continued.
"After the salt of the earth, Mackenzie? Sold his soul. Is that what it looks like from here? The devil is smiling. At all his conquests."
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