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David Gest 'once hired a hitman to kill Sir Elton John'

We have heard some wild celebrity tales in our time but this one might just be the most shocking of all.

It has been claimed that the late David Gest once hired a hitman to kill Sir Elton John, with the producer being left fuming when Elton suggested that he was gay after he married Liza Minelli in 2002.

David apparently wanted to bump Elton off.
David apparently wanted to bump Elton off.

David reportedly paid an assassin a whopping £20,000 to kill the ‘Your Song’ hitmaker during a show in California way back in 2003.

Speaking out, David’s then-bodyguard and close friend, Imad Handi, told The Sun: “David flew into a range and yelled, ‘I’m going to kill that motherf***er. He’s a dead man.’

“He looked me in the eyes and said, ‘I want him dead’. I think he was so angry because Elton rumbled who he really was.”

According to Imad, David was living in Hawaii when he heard about Elton’s quip that he wanted to “find Liza a heterosexual husband” and soon approached a doorman who had “good connections” to enquire about the hit.

The star was left fuming when Elton made a remark about his marriage to Liza.
The star was left fuming when Elton made a remark about his marriage to Liza.

He continued: “David spent a lot of time in the bars and got talking to a Maori doorman who was connected on the island. David approached him about the possibility of bumping Elton off.

“No one knew his name but the Maori man said he had friends who could sort it for £40,000. I had to do the research to work out when Elton would next be in Los Angeles for the hit.

“David then gave me $25,000 (£20,000). The following night, I took the money in a white laundry bag to the Hilton village hotel and gave it to the man.

“He said he wanted the remainder afterwards. I felt guilty but I felt loyalty to David.”

David eventually called off the hit.
David eventually called off the hit.

Imad claims that it was he who eventually persuaded David to call off the outrageous plan, saying that he pleaded with the star until he relented.

He explained: “I started to really worry about being implicated and at the start of 2003 I pleaded with him to call it off.

“He eventually said OK but told me I had to get his money back. The man only gave me £8,000 back so David lost £12,000 but at least Elton didn’t die.”

Well, quite.

The X Factor judge looked very much master of all he surveyed from his perch on a jet ski during his annual Barbados vacation. He, girlfriend Lauren Silverman, and son Eric were seen boarding a yacht called 'Seaduced' earlier. (Photo: AKM-GSI)
Gest was apparently obsessed with Simon Cowell.

Imad also alleged that after divorcing Liza in 2007 he began pursuing men, even regularly attending gay sex parties.

He revealed: “He was obsessed with Simon Cowell. He was his dream man because of his power.

“David bragged that Simon had invited him to Lisbon with him because he was supposedly working there. I think it was in David’s fantasy.

“He’d talk about men, his love for well-endowed blokes. If anybody asked if he was gay, he flatly denied it but he regularly went to gay sex parties in the English countryside.”

David tragically died from a stroke last April at the age of 62.

Read more:

[ David Gest quits Celebrity Big Brother following unfortunate mix-up ]

[ Sir Elton John named UK’s most charitable celebrity ]

[ Sir Elton John ends eight-year feud with his mother Sheila ]