Elton John has defended himself against accusations of child pornography relating to a photograph he donated to an art exhibition, insisting the image has already been featured in galleries across the globe.
The photo, taken by famed photographer Nan Goldin, features two young girls posing provocatively-and is one of 4,000 pictures used in the Elton John Photographic Collection at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, England.
The explicit shot had to be withdrawn from the exhibition before it began on Wednesday after British police launched an investigation into the photo to see if the gallery had breached the law for using the image.
A spokesman for Northumbria Police confirms: "We attended the Baltic last Thursday at the invitation of management who were seeking advice about an item from an exhibition prior to it going on public display.
"This item is being assessed and Northumbria Police are in consultation with (prosecutors) investigating the circumstances surrounding it."
But in a statement posted on the singer’s Web site, John's spokesperson hits out at the investigation, saying: "The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world...in Houston, London, Madrid, New York, Portugal, Warsaw and Zurich without any objections of which we are aware."
A representative for the Baltic Centre said they were working closely with authorities to look into the matter.