baby go ahead ♪ ♪ cry those oscar winning tears ♪ [ cheers and applause ] this is nightline. >> tonight, elton john. still standing. i'm still standing.

>> yeah, yeah, yeah, i'm still standing. and i am better than i ever did. and there's a lot more to come. >> the groundbreaking superstar opening up to robin roberts, about the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. >> when i was using it was like i was so felt so bad about myself because i would just tell lies and just, you know, cheat. >> awful. >> now, inspiring and mentoring a new generation, from dua lipa to lady gaga. >> i've always felt like i have someone looking out for me, and i've always felt like elton was willing to also say hard things to me. >> gaga's special relationship with his children. >> they do call me gaga mother. it's very, very cute. >> plus, partners in crime brothers known for their luxury lifestyle. two of them prominent real estate brokers now accused of using that power to drug and sexually assault dozens of women, which they deny. >> the two brothers arguing, arguing about who was going to rape her first. >> a hearing in a miami

courtroom today. the disturbing allegation. and daughters. >> i knew that girls needed a way to connect with their fathers. >> the gripping documentary, executive produced by scandal star kerry washington, showing incarcerated men reunited with their daughters for one sweet day. >> this was more than a dance. this was an opportunity to heal families. >> while the filmmakers say it's keeping people from returning to jail. plus, the dallas cowboys cheerleader making a bold statement on the football field, raising awareness and scoring raising awareness and scoring big with fans. (♪) bounce back fast from heartburn with tums gummy bites, and love food back. (♪) many remedies you take for chest congestion only mask the symptoms. you're gonna love this property.

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at kaiser permanente all of us work together to care for all that is you. >> good evening. thank you for joining us. we begin tonight with a new chapter for the legendary elton john. he scored the soundtrack for many generations and he's still doing it, mentoring younger superstars and helping them avoid the pitfalls of fame. our robin roberts is behind the scenes with the 77 year old superstar. good morning gentlemen. >> when you're an entertainer, when you play the piano, that's what you do. you entertain. and being successful as a piano player and being stuck at a piano, i had to be flamboyant. i had to be acrobatic. >> sir elton john, the rocketman. one of the greatest

performers of a generation. than five decades since his debut in los angeles. so good to see you. great to see you. oh my god. the singer, baring his soul and looking back on his iconic career. >> i've had the most incredible life, and i was really proud of what we'd done as far as the records and the touring, going behind the scenes with never before seen footage of his new disney+ documentary, never too late. i wonder what's going to happen to all this stuff when i finish. >> he had some of the highest highs, seven straight number one albums, over 70 top 40 hits, 36 studio albums and five grammys. >> it's not just that he's kept making songs. kept making hits. it's that those songs never went away.

>> and some of the lowest lows, what he calls an abusive childhood and an addiction that almost brought him down when i was using it, was like i was so felt so bad about myself because i would just tell lies and just, you know, cheat. >> awful. and that's, you know, i've always tried to be the opposite of that. >> but he overcame it all, all the while, writing the soundtrack to our lives. i remember when rock was young. >> crocodile rock. it's like this throwback 50s song. la la la. don't go breaking my heart. it was this disco song tacked on to rock of the westies. boy, was it inescapable. and jesus christ, is it good. don't go breaking my heart i won't go breaking your heart. >> his songwriting capabilities are completely otherworldly, and

he has inspired generations and generations of artists to make music. >> elton john has mentored and inspired the next generation of artists. >> he provides a sense of stability to young artists that are coming into this industry, and their careers are taking off. >> lady gaga is one of his close friends and godmother to his sons. >> zachary and elijah are incredibly special and so smart and sweet and talented and full of life. they to call me gaga mother. it's very, very cute with the accents, especially. >> gaga and elton have performed together many times, including at the grammys in 2010. and you could tell everybody, oh, this is your song. >> i hope you don't mind. i hope you don't mind. >> yeah, my favorite elton song. is your song actually, like that moment. playing that with him

meant so much to me. because sometimes in your life you hear something as a songwriter and you think, man, i wish i wrote that. >> gaga says elton has helped her navigate the notoriously tough industry. >> i've always felt like i have someone looking out for me, and i've always felt like elton was willing to also say hard things to me. he always wanted me to be okay, and i think that's really rare in a business where very often you're encouraged, you know, to just succeed and outdo yourself. elton wanted me to be happy. >> in 2020, elton released the lockdown sessions, where he sang with artists including miley cyrus, lil nas x, nicki minaj, ed sheeran and charlie puth, who's known for hits like we don't talk anymore, we don't talk anymore, we don't talk anymore like we used to do. the two first met a few years back

at a restaurant in west hollywood. >> the first thing that he said to me was, you need to stop writing with ten people on a song. you are totally capable of writing a song yourself. he was like, i've been watching your career for five years and i know what you're capable of. >> during covid, they collaborated on after all. >> i love that song. i love that song. i'll never forget the creation of that song. >> the duo performing the song at the global citizen live. after all. >> i think elton has such a strong relationship with artists coming up because he cares. >> there are a lot of artists that might not even be here right now if it weren't for elton taking their hand and walking them through some pretty uncharted territory. >> brandi carlile, known for her 2007 hit the story. i am. >> story and who i am, has

worked with elton for years, most recently on a song for never too late. >> i've been friends with brandi now for over 20 years. she wrote the lyrics to this song, which encapsulate the whole documentary. and originally the documentary was going to be called farewell yellow brick road, which i thought was fairly boring. and then she wrote this song called never too late. you're my man, baby, to hell with heaven's gate. >> there's not a moment too soon. >> if it's never too, never too late. >> oh, it's never too late to go shoot out the moon. >> everything in the lyric encompasses what i've been through. and she says you're an iron man, baby. and i am a bit of an iron man. because i've been through so much. and i've come out the other side. >> and now his life. since he stopped touring at home with his husband, david furnish, and their two sons, zachary and

elijah. i'm still standing after all this time. >> yes, exactly. >> yes. those lyrics must mean more to you than. >> than ever. it does. i'm still standing. and i am better than i ever did. i'm singing better, i'm still playing better. and there's a lot more to come. but you know you have challenges along the way. i'm still standing. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> how has that impacted you creatively and in other ways that you don't have that time on the stage anymore? >> it's wonderful. i want it to end at the top of my career by playing and singing as well as i ever had, if not better. i honestly don't miss going on tour. i have two young boys that need me. i have a partner, david, my husband rather, that needs me, and i understand why people find it hard to stop, but i didn't find it hard at all. >> our thanks to robin for more

on this story, watch impact by nightline's. latest episode elton john still standing. streaming now on hulu. elton's documentary never too late starts streaming tomorrow on disney plus. up next, partners in crime three brothers facing charges of sex trafficking. charges of sex trafficking. multiple a relentless weed, moderate to severe ulcerative colitis symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya... with rapid relief at 4 weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation. at one year, many people experienced remission... and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms or if you need a vaccine. healing is possible with tremfya.

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♪ but my heart's of gold ♪ ♪ just one more night ♪ ♪ and i'm coming off this long and winding road ♪

♪ i'm on my way ♪ ♪ i'm on my way ♪ ♪ home sweet home ♪ there's no place like the road home. receive a $5,500 bonus on a new 2024 audi q5 plug-in hybrid during the season of audi sales event. ♪ honeybaked, how it glistens. ♪ ♪ mac and cheese, so delicious. ♪ ♪ sweet potato souffle. ♪ ♪ ham and turkey, hooray. ♪ ♪ feasting on some honeybaked all day. ♪ every bite is a celebration with the honey baked ham company. >> welcome back now to three brothers charged with sex trafficking women for more than ten years, which they deny. prosecutors saying the men used their wealth and power to entice their victims. here's nightline co-anchor juju chang.

>> appearing in handcuffs and suicide prevention vests, a far cry from their notoriously luxurious lifestyles, prominent real estate broker orin alexander, along with his twin brother alan, making their first court appearances in miami on sexual assault charges. >> your honor, my wife is nine months pregnant and due any day now with our first child. her family is in brazil. she's counting on me to be with her during labor. >> well, that's going to stay as a no bond. correct? that's correct. that's no bond. >> the two and their older brother, tal were arrested by fbi agents and florida police wednesday. >> the victim stated. she recalled alan and oren alexander, the two brothers, arguing, arguing about who was going to rape her first. >> at the same time, they were indicted in new york on federal sex trafficking. all brothers deny all state and federal charges between at least 2010 and at least 2021. >> the alexander brothers worked together and with others to repeatedly and violently drug and sexually assault and rape

dozens of female victims. >> oren and tal, touting themselves as superstar brokers in ultra luxe deals at douglas elliman, the real estate company then forming their own firm called official partners. >> official is the only hyper specialized residential brokerage in the market today focused on the top end of the market. >> now they're accused of using that power and money to prey on women. according to the indictment, the three brothers committed the alleged assaults, sometimes acting alone, sometimes with each other, and sometimes with other men, and allegedly physically restrained and held women down and ignored screams and explicit requests to stop. >> the defendants allegedly used their wealth and status to recruit and pay for the travel of their intended victims. >> prosecutors also accused the brothers of spiking their victims drinks with drugs. attorneys for alan told abc news my client will be entering a plea of not guilty and addressing these charges in the

appropriate forum, the courtroom. attorneys for oren saying oren alexander is innocent. the evidence will show that neither he nor his brothers ever committed a crime. attorneys for tal did not provide a comment. allegations of sexual misconduct have been made against the brothers before several civil lawsuits with similar allegations filed earlier this year. the latest filed today. >> so we filed a complaint from an incident that occurred back in december 31st of 2016. the complaint really details this. the horrendous and violent rape that she endured. >> our thanks to juju. juju also recently spoke with the filmmakers behind a powerful documentary about incarcerated fathers and daughters and a one night only dance giving them a rite of passage. so many other families experience. the movie is generating oscar buzz and making change. >> natalie and angela, welcome to nightline. >> thank you for having us.

>> now, natalie, i know that you saw angela's ted talk and was inspired by that. why did it take eight years to follow this particular story? >> initially, it was me and angela really getting to know each other and interviewing the sheriff and a lot of previous participants. and then it took three years to get the green light to actually bring cameras into a jail. so that was a big hurdle. and then the film is about a coming of age relationship with these fathers and daughters. so it wasn't just about going in for this heightened dance moment. it was really about being with the girls and fathers long term and seeing what that one day of connection does to their relationships as they grow up. >> it's a profound impact. let's take a quick look at the documentary. >> our daddies are our mirrors that we reflect back on when we decide about what type of man we deserve and how they see us for the rest of our lives. i knew that girls needed a way to connect with their fathers.

let's have a dance, one girl shouted. >> let's have a dance! what a great directive! so tell me, you know, this program grew out of the girls desire to build that connection. and you point out in the film that a lot of incarcerated families don't get to even have touch visits, that they have to have video visits. why is this so important to foster that connection? >> well, we understand that when children and their parents are not connected, that the morale is lessened. right? and then they really, truly just yearn for touch, you know, and they believe that that was a solution. and so we followed their lead and we advocated for these girls to have this special rare dance in the jail. and fortunately, our first one, sheriff woody, was able to see

the same thing. and he actually told us when families stay connected, most likely they will not return because they understand the importance of being in the community with their family. >> god knows your kids need you. homes ain't going to get you a home as long as you trust and believe. >> talk to me about the recidivism rates, because people who take part in your program have a very different recidivism rate than the 43% of incarcerated people who come back to jail. >> absolutely. when we started in richmond, virginia, where i'm from, our recidivism rate was extremely high. and fortunately, former city sheriff woody understood that community programs could be a solution to this problem and realized that these recidivism rates were going down because community was coming in. so although these individuals were locked in, did not mean that they did not deserve community touch and opportunity. >> and the daughters really give them something to fight for their freedom. right. i mean, natalie, you filmed with these girls. there's a lot of anger,

there's hurt, there's skepticism among some of these girls. what was it like to watch them have this ripple effect of the dance? yeah. >> i mean, it was so powerful to be there in person. and for all the girls and fathers, they have such different relationships. so how that one day impacts girls differently really unfolded over the years to come. some had that opportunity to get to know each other for the first time. some were able to reconnect and really hold on and build a memory that was love and long lasting. it's been powerful and that moment stayed with them for the years to come. >> there's ten weeks of basically fatherhood sessions. yes. how does that impact the day of the fathers on this emotional roller coaster as well as the daughters? >> so as you see in the film, the fathers are in a coaching session, but so are the mothers and the girls, because we understood that this was more than a dance. this was an opportunity to heal families, communities, and also to make sure that we break these barriers down around these

visitation practices. and then the families are now hopeful. >> natalie, as a first time feature documentarian, you're being lavished with awards, and you were recognized at sundance. you have fairy godmothers like jessica seinfeld and kerry washington. what's it like watching this project of yours grow into this? you know, incredibly important piece of work? >> it's surreal. and i'm having that exact moment with you here right now, because it's really been angela and i and these girls for almost ten years. this is sort of an experience of empathy and love and forgiveness. and i think hopefully a testament to our shared humanity, continued success and blessings to you both. >> thanks so much for being here. >> thank you. thank you for having us. >> our thanks again to juju. daughters is now streaming on netflix. up next, the dallas cowboys cheerleaders scoring big cowboys cheerleaders scoring big on the field with a bold ♪ who cares for what you've got ♪

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>> and finally, tonight, the dallas cowboys cheerleader ditching her wig for an important message. armani vladimir going viral after the cowboys posted this video of her cheering bald during monday night's game. the 26 year old suffers from alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. she chose to forgo her wig to raise awareness about the disease. >> all of my teammates, they were all cheering for me, and i could hear them behind me, and i was just crying the entire time because i was so happy. >> vladimir, first diagnosed at the age of 12, says she was moved by the outpouring of love and support from fans. courage. that's n