George Michael: ‘Gay life didn’t get easier when I came out’
By Nick Levine
George Michael has said that his “gay life didn’t get easier” after coming out.
The singer was famously outed in 1998 when he was arrested for “engaging in a lewd act” at a public restroom in Los Angeles. He then confirmed his sexuality in an interview with CNN.
Discussing what happened next in a new interview with the BBC, the 50-year-old star says: “For some strange reason, my gay life didn’t get easier when I came out. Quite the opposite happened, really.”
He goes on to explain: “The press seemed to take some delight that I previously had a ‘straight audience’, and set about trying to destroy that. And I think some men were frustrated that their girlfriends wouldn’t let go of the idea that George Michael just hadn’t found the ‘right girl’ [yet]. Which is still what a lot of my extended family still think!”
Continuing, Michael insists he has no regrets about waiting until the age of 35 to be open about his sexuality, saying: “In the years when HIV was a killer, any parent of an openly gay person was terrified. I knew my mother well enough that she would spend every day praying that I didn’t come across that virus. She’d have worried like that.”
During the interview, Michael also expresses a desire to reach out to his gay fans with his music in the future, saying he would “like to do something for the gay community. Possibly a dance album”.
George Michael discusses his sexuality candidly in a two-part BBC Radio 2 documentary, titled Up Close with George Michael, whose first part airs tonight (March 18) at 10pm. The concluding part follows a week later on March 25.
The singer released his new album Symphonica, which mainly contains live versions of songs from his 2011-12 concert tour of the same name, this Monday (March 17). Check back on attitude.co.uk tomorrow (March 19) at 4pm to find out where it lies in the midweek charts.
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