The notorious George Michael wants to make amends with the gay population after his very lengthy run of endangering the public with his illegal behavior. Why he’s specifically apologizing to gays instead of the general population remains a mystery, but it’s worth a brief recap of all of his most recent run-ins with the law which began in 2006, when George was found passed out in his car and arrested for drugs. Soon after, it happened again, and then he was revealed to have had random fat 58-year old guy sex in a park before getting stoned and passing out in his car for a third time. Get a driver, right?
Things got quiet for awhile, but it didn’t last longer than a year. Mostly, George behaved himself only because he was on his worldwide comeback tour, which meant not only that he was too busy to pass out in his own car but also that his handlers did a very good job of keeping him in line at that time. Then in 2008, George was arrested again for crack possession in a public bathroom. Subsequently, George made a very public apology but was still un-considered for a lifetime achievement award at the Brits Awards that year.
For another period, Geroge calmed down again or, at least, kept his bad behavior under wraps. Then in 2010, George went on tour in Australia and was discovered trolling for gay strange via an iPhone app with the moniker “Back for Wood.” After returning to jolly old England, George ceremoniously ran his car into a photo store while high on drugs and received an 8-week jail sentence as punishment. Although he only served half that sentence, he probably secretly loved easy access to more strange, right?
Now, George wants to go on tour again, surprisingly enough since he promised that his last tour (three years ago) would be his last. Still, a man has to support his own celebrity lifestyle, so here comes the aforementioned apology, for which he organized a full press conference:
George Michael has apologised for being a bad role model for gay children as he prepares to tour again for the first time in three years.
Talking at a press conference at London’s Royal Opera House to announce his plans, the 47-year-old star said he felt he’d let down fellow homosexuals over the years for putting himself in the public eye often for the wrong reasons.
He said of his troubles over the past few years: “I have a serious problem with the fact that every time I made a mistake and everytime I let myself down that I was letting young gay kids down.” The star continued: “Because they would then witness the homophobia that was thrown me and the language that we use in this country.
“I like to think that life is a balance whenever there is something bad, there is something good you can do with it. I have some plans to do things to help gay children.”
The Careless Whisper singer also had some criticism for the gay community however. He cautioned: “I think we are notoriously bad as a community at helping our own when it comes to children, because we don’t have our own children.
“There are things I want to do with my next album to make up for the damage that I have inadvertently caused by making myself so newsworthy and putting myself on the back foot enough that I couldn’t defend gay children from some of that language.”
By explanation of why he’s chosen to return to the stage, he shrugged: “God wanted me to sing. I don’t think anyone disputes that I’ve made myself some pretty strong enemies in the past.
“I’ve put myself in a position where I am going to alienate people but ultimately, one, I have to one be inspired by the music I am making and two I have to live the life I believe I should live so in terms of alienation, I don’t think that has ever been a big worry.
“I’m not surprised that my fans have stuck by me. I have been surprised by the amount of support I’ve had in some ways, but my fans have always been incredibly loyal.
“It is such an amazing feeling to watch the effect I have on my audience. There is no question that is the most valuable thing I can ever do in terms of contribution and it seems that God wanted me to and gave me the voice to do it and the stamina to do it.”
[From Daily Mail]
Okay, so the bloke believes that God wanted him to sing and that this act is the most powerful thing he could ever do to contribute to society. How about staying away from driving a car, George? Obviously, he cannot and does not wish to stop doing drugs and engaging in risky promiscuous sexual behavior (with presumably willing partners), but seriously, stop getting smashed and then driving that way. He appears to have no disregard for the fact that, if not for sheer luck, he could have killed several people (including children) by now, and he only seems to care about what he believes is a tangentially-related homophobia in response. I don’t think that anyone truly got angry at “the gays” whenever George crashed into parked cars and a photomat. No, people merely got angry at the guy who did it, and deservedly so. George Michael just doesn’t get it though, and he’s looking pretty rough in these press conference photos too.
Photos courtesy of Fame Pictures
he has the voice of an angel. seriously.one of the most beautiful voices out there….good for him.
Um okay.
He sorta looks like a stuck up art dealer now.
Oh Georgie…you can’t hide the crazy.
Less talk, more walk, George.
That’s a really nice suit and his hair cut is perfectly matched with his beard (not that kind of beard).
As for the un-considered Life Time Achievement award, with his record seems like he and Sheen will be nose to nose at the wire.
In that first pic, it looks like he has one blue eye and one brown eye. Am I wrong?
Duh. Really? (To the title of this post. How about “Letting Down All Humanity?”
I think the reason he mentions gay kids is mainly because of the cottaging elements of his ‘crimes’ and the media reaction to it which can and did generate an awful lot of negative generalisations about gay men.
Anyway, love him, very talented, funny, self-deprecating and always marching to his own beat which is why he has such a loyal and appreciative fanbase.
I’ve got huge love for GM – always have – lost it at “wake me up b4 you go go”. His voice is unbelieveable and he’s one gorgeous man. I agree though – he needs to see this situation for what it is and get himself sorted – it’s not simply a gay issue.
I kinda feel sorry for him – brought up in a very macho Greek family in an era when to be gay was akin to being a monster, having to appear straight early on when he was in Wham, then coming out when it was a huge deal and probably losing some fan base. As a non-gay person it’s hard to relate to that sense of disjointedness about who he really was/is and how it has affected his behaviour. I still love his music, he’s incredibly talented and the only thing I want him to stop doing is smoking so much dope as it will ruin his lovely voice.
what makes him think he’s so important that he could “inadvertantly” cause personal anguish to his gay fans?!? Check the ego, George! This isn’t the 80’s anymore. Damn, I used to really like him, too.
Oh George. Crazy, wonky, strange, slutty George. I sill love you.
I don’t quite get the apology just to the gay kids only to say (pretty much what WhiteNoise said plus) if he was straight his “risky promiscuous sexual behavior” wouldn’t be half the news it was. A male celeb getting it on with a chick in a bathroom? No problem. I think most of the mistakes he is referring to relate to the arrests for sexual inappropriateness – that would make sense.
A tour sounds like a fantastic idea!! One because he still has an unbelieveable voice and two because he seems to have a driver on tour!
He has loyal fans because of who he is as a person as well as an incredible talent. I only wish his 47-stop tour included the US.
kudos for having the maturity 2 fess up like that.
after all he ‘did’ wanna be our:
Father.
Figure.
get it.
😆
He looks rough. Time to get it together.
@ K – less talk, more walk
ITA. And he didn’t seem to come clean much about how booze and drugs played a big part in his “crime spree”. It wasn’t just about making “mistakes” and then saying sorry. What is he doing to change for the future?
Seriously get a driver.
George is one of those guys who makes everything about being gay. This is no exception. The public’s distaste for him of late has NOTHING to do with his sexuality, but rather his irresponsibility; his disregard for his own life; and more importantly, his disregard for the lives of others – gay children included.
Truly examine yourself George, take the time to clean yourself up and then do whatever the hell you want in terms of your career and find out what it feels like to be respected!
I’m happy to see George get some love in these comments. I am a huge music lover, and have always said that I think he’s one of the best singer/songwriters of his generation. Seriously, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2 is absolutely genius. The man has had to work out a lot of issues in the public eye, and I admire him for owning up.
He looks really weird in them glasses there.
He did not let gay kids down. Let’s keep the ego in check, can we? He did however let his partner down and anyone who cares for him.
All that aside….hire a freakin’ driver. Have some self respect. Treat yourself better and treat those who care for you better.
And get your gay self out there and sing. Your voice is heavenly and you are so incredibly talented. Let that be your freakin’ legacy.
Not you trash.
Well, he’s got a valid point. He’s been out for a very long time, and when he was first arrested — it was for a bathroom thing but I think it was in the mid- or late ’90s — I remember hearing homophobic remarks in response, and I am sure that in the end some young gay men did suffer indirectly, emotionally and perhaps physically. The casual hostility when referring to his shenanigans was geared toward gay men only, of course, b/c at that time all (not just most, like now) ignorant bigots thought sexual activity between women looked a lot like the behavior of the “It’s a Small World” ride’s dolls.
He really did represent open male gayness almost solely in the mainstream music world for a number of years, beginning not long after the album featuring “Freedom ’90,” I think.
Of course he’s an idiot for not acknowledging that he’s endangered the public at large. Maybe he’s only able to focus on the fallout from the legal violations that are sexual in nature. I believe he has thought of himself as a bit of a spokesmodel all this time. He has always been arrogant.
The new Humbert Humbert look is skeeving me a bit.
Ya I agree that he’s got a point – he was definitely irresponsible/dangerous with his driving while stoned habit, but his screw-ups would inevitably be followed by reactions involving homophobic slurs and generalizations.
Since he’s been released from jail he has said that he’s gone to rehab and admitted to having a drug problem so I think he is making steps to change. He continually denied that he had problems before he got kicked in jail.
Also his license has been taken away so he’s no longer driving either!
I absolutely adore GM. In 2008, my husband surprised me with tickets to his concert in Vegas (We live in Calgary, Canada)
It was the best concert I have ever seen, or will ever see.
I hope he gets his personal act together, because his profesional one will always be the best.
Such a disappointment.