Last time we heard from George Michael, it was early May, and he was preparing to launch his latest worldwide tour. For some unknown reason, George had decided that it was the perfect time to become repentant about (a few) of his ways, so he organized a full press conference for the specific reason of apologizing not to the general public for all of the times he endangered the collective welfare while driving drunk and high but, instead, only to gay kids for letting them down. Sure, he had let gay kids down but also society as well, since that’s generally how most of us feel about intoxicated drivers, but whatever. If you so desire a refresher on all of George’s run-ins with the law, here’s a fairly comprehensive look at the matter. At the moment, however, George has fully embarked upon the aforementioned “Symphonica” concert tour and can be seen in these photos arriving for opening night at Prague State Opera in the Czech Republic. When the actual show commenced, however, George decided that he needed to discuss his love life with the audience. Okay:

George Michael says he has split from long-term partner Kenny Goss, partly due to the fallout from Goss’s struggle with alcohol addiction.

The 48-year-old singer — appearing at the Prague State Opera House on the opening night of his “Symphonica” tour – told the audience Monday “Kenny and I haven’t been together for two and a half years.”

“My love life has has been a lot more turbulent than I’ve let on,” he said, dedicating a new song “Where I hope you are” to Goss. “This man has brought me a lot of joy and a lot of pain.”

Michael also honored the late Amy Winehouse, calling her the only British artist to have left him in awe during his 30-year musical career.

The former Wham! singer had previously denied allegations he and Goss had separated, but said Monday: “It’s time to be honest.”

[From HuffPo]

Poor, long-suffering Kenny. Through the years, I always felt for the guy because, for all appearances, he seemed to stand by George no matter what. Also, part of me wants to believe what George is telling his audience from his lofty onstage perch, but he probably has a bit of an agenda of his own too. Certainly, if Kenny was dealing with kicking alcoholism, that would’ve put a hefty strain on the relationship, but it’s not as if George hasn’t been mucking things up quite well with his own drug and alcohol-related issues over the years as well. Not to mention the fact that George himself has been known to engage in random fat 58-year-old guy sex in parks before getting stoned and passing out in his car. That sort of thing usually doesn’t help matters, right?

Obviously, no one really knows what went wrong in George and Kenny’s relationship but themselves, and (speaking through my own history of less-than-perfect romances) they might not even have the full picture either. Perhaps they were co-dependent, or perhaps they had an open relationship. However, if George speaks the truth and they’ve really been broken up for years, it would help explain why he was trolling for strange last year though an iPhone app with the moniker “Back for Wood.” Or maybe George just wanted to provide his audience with an authentic-sounding reason for his sad new love song. In the meantime, George looks healthy in these photos, and he’s drinking a Coke Light. Hopefully, that trend will continue.

Photos courtesy of WENN

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

George Michael is the latest celebrity addict to mess up multiple chances, screw up numerous times, and ultimately be sentenced to jail. Michael was sentenced to eight weeks in jail yesterday for a July incident in which he rammed his car into a photo store in London in the wee hours of the morning. He’ll only serve a month of that sentence and will spend the second half on parole. It was his seventh driving offense, and there’s a recap of some of the crazy sh*t he’s done in this earlier story if you’d like a refresher. Given all the times he’s driven under the influence, it was just a matter of time before he faced some harsher consequences, although it certainly took long enough. At least he’s serving time jail before he seriously harms himself or someone else. He’ll also have his license revoked for five years.

George Michael was sentenced to eight weeks in jail and lost his license for five years Tuesday for driving under the influence of drugs when he crashed his car into a London photo shop.

A British judge told the wayward star his addiction to marijuana put him and the public at risk.

The former Wham! singer pleaded guilty last month to driving under the influence and possession of cannabis following a July 4 collision between his Range Rover and a Snappy Snaps store in north London.

District Judge John Perkins told the singer he had taken a “dangerous and unpredictable mix” of prescription drugs and marijuana.

“It does not appear that you took proper steps to deal with what is clearly an addiction to cannabis,” the judge said. “That’s a mistake which puts you and, on this occasion, the public at risk.”

Perkins sentenced Michael to the prison time and a 1,250 pound ($1,930) fine during a hearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court.

The judge said Michael would have to serve four weeks of the sentence in prison and the rest on parole.

Michael arrived at court in a chauffeur-driven car, surrounded by four security guards and greeted by a large crowd of fans and photographers. He left with court guards who led him from the courtroom toward the cells, as one person in the public gallery sobbed.

According to police, Michael appeared “spaced out” when they found him sitting in the car, whose engine was still running, in the wee hours of July 4. He acknowledged smoking marijuana and taking a prescription sedative, prosecutors said.

It was the latest in a string of automotive and drug-related mishaps for the 47-year-old star, who has often spoken of his fondness for marijuana.

[From AP via Huffington Post]

Is Michael going to change? I doubt it, but at least he’s not going to be allowed drive anymore. In an interview published in the The Guardian in December of last year, Michael smoked joints in front of the reporter, laughed while recounting stories of Elton John and Bono trying to get him to go to rehab, and admitted that he trolls public parks for anonymous sex when the weather permits. Maybe he won’t hate it in jail.

George Michael and Kenny Goss are shown outside court yesterday. Credit: WENN.com

George Michael has been busted causing an accident while drunk driving, ramming his car into three parked cars, passed out in his car with drugs, passed out in his car at a light, and trolling for sex in parks, public restrooms, and the Internet – which he freely admits to. He’s also been busted for crack possession, admits to smoking 7-8 joints every day, and finds it humorous that Elton John and Bono want him to go to rehab. All that considered, is it surprising that Michael ran his Range Rover over a curb and into the side of a photo store in London at 3:30 in the morning? (TMZ and The Daily Mail have photos of the aftermath, would could be worse.)

George Michael has been arrested after he crashed his car into a shop front in the early hours of the morning.

The Careless Whisper singer was caught on CCTV mounting the kerb in his Ranger Rover and ploughing into Snappy Snaps in Hampstead, north London.

Following the collision, the shocked former Wham! star climbed out of his 4×4 and waited for police to arrive.

He was not breathalysed, insisting to officers he had not been drinking.

But he is thought to have been tested for drugs at a north London police station, the Daily Mirror reported.

No drugs were recovered and the 47-year-old star was released on bail until August.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed: ‘Police were called at approximately 3.30am on Sunday to reports of a vehicle in collision with a building.

‘Officers attended and a man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive.

‘He was taken to a north London police station and later bailed to return on August 13 pending inquiries.’

The incident is the seventh time George, who openly admits to being a cannabis user, has been at the centre of a police investigation into his driving.

Last year, he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence when his Land Rover hit a lorry on the A34 in Berkshire.

He had just completed a two-year driving ban at the time and was subsequently released without charge.

Yesterday, the front of the photo shop still showed signs of damage, with the door frame window shattered and wooden panelling cracked.

The shop is close to Hampstead Heath, where George was caught having sex three years ago.

It is also near to his Highgate home.

[From The Daily Mail]

Is it just me or does anyone else get “Careless Whisper” stuck in a loop in their head once it’s mentioned? I just can’t stop singing it to myself, damnit. That’s why this guy is so rich. Quick – don’t think of “Last Christmas.”

Why didn’t cops give him a Breathalyzer and when is Michael going to get his license revoked for good? He had it taken away in 2007 for two years after pleading guilty to DUI. This is his seventh driving offense. They should rip up his license before he kills someone. He’ll have to hire a driver to help him troll the parks for sex with strangers. There comes a point when this kind of sh*t is no longer funny and in George’s case that was several years ago.

George Michael is shown out in October, 2009 (credit: Zibi/WENN.com) and performing in Australia on 2/26/10. (credit: Robert Wallace/WENN.com

Oh, God. George Michael is in Australia to perform at several sold-out concerts, and it seems like George is enjoying the Aussie gay scene quite a bit. George has got the iPhone app Grindr, which apparently all the gay dudes use to hook up…? Sure. Anyway, George has been “grindr-ing” lots of Aussie dudes under the name “Back for Wood”. Which is kind of an awesome name. I wish I had thought of a cool handle like that. I bet Gerard Butler’s hetero handle is “Back for Vadge”. And whatever city he’s in, he contacts all women he’s ever met with the message, “Gerard Butler is ‘Back for Vadge’”. By the way, George is still officially with his long-term boyfriend, so I have no idea if George’s long-term relationship involves lots of Aussie strange or what.

The pop singer, famous for getting arrested cruising for sex in a public toilet, is now on Grindr, a location-based iPhone app that allows gay men to meet up via their phones. And he’s terrorizing Australia’s gays with it.

On a recent vacation down under, it appears Michael logged on to the service under the profile “Back for Wood” and contacted several men. But his randy behavior in Australia wasn’t restricted to his iPhone. While he was in Sydney to perform at several sold-out shows, Michael was also spotted hanging out at several gay bars and was also seen partying on a boat with a ripped gentleman. Fortunately, since Grindr displays where a user is located, it should be easier than ever to stay out of his way.

[From Gawker]

If you’d like to see photos of George’s pasty body partying with a really hot Aussie dude, go here. Australia’s Daily Telegraph notes that George “ditched industry invitations on the night of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade to visit Oxford St cafes and make new friends.” Translation: he ditched Australia’s establishment gays to troll for strange in a series of seedy bars, yachts, public toilets and back alleys. You know what? I kind of love George Michael. He’s so unapologetic. And he seems like he would be a lot of fun!

Oh, and I really want this suitcase:

George Michael gave an extensive and unguarded interview to The Guardian newspaper over the weekend, likely his first since the British media went crazy with reports that he and Kenny Goss, his partner of 13 years, had split. Those reports were later denied, but that doesn’t stop the lingering questions about George Michael’s thirst for strange, his ambivalence to his fans, and his drug problems. The Guardian journalist even notes at the beginning of the interview: “A bag of grass and half a dozen pills sit on the table in front of him.” I’ve said it before – I actually like George Michael, even though I think he’s a total skeeve. I appreciate that he’s honest about his life, and he does give a hell of an interesting interview. The full Guardian piece is here, and here are some highlights:

Michael says that he’s tempted to tell some female fans to “piss off”: Really? “No. What can you do, especially if they come from abroad? You can’t be nasty. There’s one woman, she broke into my house seven times. The police did nothing. And I saw her down the road one day wearing my clothes.”

Michael on an interview he did in 2004: “I was probably more stoned in those days. I was existing on a balance of Starbucks and weed.”

The pills: What are the pills for? “Mind your own business. No, some of them are vitamin, some are anti-smoking and some are for my back.” In the bad old days, he reckons he was smoking around 25 spliffs a day, and was worried he’d do permanent damage to his voice. “I probably do about seven or eight a day now.”

George Michael on Rupert Murdoch, who he calls “the devil”: “Well, I’m the only person who mentions Murdoch in a negative context. The last person to go against him was Dennis Potter, and that was how many years ago? And if he hadn’t died, he would have been dead soon after, after what he said.” He’s joking. Sort of.

On all of those incidents where he was sleeping in his car: “For all the doctored pictures, every single breathalyser test I’ve taken in my life has read 0.0, and I’ve never failed a sobriety test.” He stops. “I always preface this with, ‘I deserved to lose my licence, I needed to lose my licence.’ ” Yes, he had taken drugs, but he was not stoned. “I had a problem with sleeping pills for about a year and a half, and I f-cked up really badly. I got in the car twice when I’d forgotten I’d already downed something to try to get me to sleep. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t deliberate – ultimately, I did it a second time, and I could have killed somebody. But the fact remains I was never accused of driving under the influence. I got done for exhaustion and sleeping pills.”

Michael on crack: “No! I mean, I’ve done different things at different times that I shouldn’t have done, once or twice, you know.” I say I’d hate to think of him on crack. “Of course. Of course. Nobody wants to regularly smoke crack. Was I [smoking back then]? On that occasion? Yeah. I’m not going to tell you [the last time I smoked crack]. But I am going to tell you, whatever I do, I did 105 really good performances, and none of my musicians can ever say they’ve seen me wasted.”

On cruising: “The handful of times a year it’s bloody warm enough, I’ll do [go cruising]. I’ll do it on a nice summer even–ing. Quite often there are campfires up there. It’s a much nicer place to get some quick and honest sex than standing in a bar, E’d off your t-ts shouting at somebody and hoping they want the same thing as you do in bed. DyaknowhatImean?”

On the kind of men he likes: “I do get anyone I want. But I like a bit of everything. I have friends up there, I have a laugh.”

On “shagging” his boyfriend Kenny: “Too personal, man. If it was shagging with Kenny, I wouldn’t have to invite him round, would I? Kenny gets his, believe me.”

On his friends thinking he needs rehab: “Elton [John] lives on that. He will not be happy until I bang on his door in the middle of the night saying, ‘Please, please, help me, Elton. Take me to rehab.’ It’s not going to happen. You know what I heard last week? That Bono… Oh for God’s sake…” He’s choking on his laughter. “Geri [Halliwell] told Kenny that Bono, having spoken to Elton, had approached Geri to say, ‘What can we do for George?’ This is what I have to deal with because I don’t want to be part of that social clique. All I’d have to do to stop it is hang out in London, so people realize I don’t look close to death. As if Bono gives a sh-t what I do with my private life… Elton just needs to shut his mouth and get on with his own life. Look, if people choose to believe that I’m sitting here in my ivory tower, Howard Hughesing myself with long fingernails and loads of drugs, then I can’t do anything about that, can I?”

And in the end: “I’m surprised that I’ve survived my own dysfunction, really. People want to see me as tragic with all the cottaging and drug-taking… those things are not what most people aspire to, and I think it removes people’s envy to see your weaknesses. I don’t even see them as weaknesses any more. It’s just who I am.”

[From The Guardian]

Now, does George Michael sound like a well-adjusted man? Not really. He sounds like a really damaged yet self-aware addict who is maintaining to a certain degree. That being said, I love the stories about Elton John and Bono. I believe them too. I could really see Bono being like “We gotta do something about George, dude.” And I kind of love the audacity of George Michael talking to a reporter as he’s rolling and smoking joints. Can you imagine if an American celebrity did that? Oh, people would have a fit. Sigh… I know I shouldn’t enable George, but I love him.

George Michael and Kenny Goss leaving Nobu in London on October 15, 2009. Credit: WENN.

Despite it all, I kind of like George Michael. He’s crazy and gross, but he lets it all hang out. All of his mistakes, all of his drama, all of his self-destructive crap, it’s all out there for public consumption. If you’re going to be crazy and gross, that’s the way to do it. It’s no secret that George likes to hook up with strangers in public toilets – he’s been arrested twice for various “lewd acts” both in America and England. And I’m not even counting the drug charges, and all of the screwed up traffic stuff that’s happened to him, like “falling asleep” in his car, or that time he was found unconscious in his car.

Throughout all of the controversies of the past decade, George was still with his longtime partner Kenny Goss – they fell in love in 1996, and Kenny had stayed with him through thick and thin. Not any more. It was last year’s arres that apparently made Kenny wake up (before you go-go) and realize that he was enabling George’s bad behavior. George was arrested in a public bathroom in London for possession of crack, but let off with a caution. Kenny had enough after that:

George Michael and his long-term lover Kenny Goss have broken up – and pals fear the singer is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Long-suffering Kenny finally walked out on George after 13 years together. The final straw came when George, 46, was arrested in the toilets on Hampstead Heath and charged with possessing drugs last year.

Furious Kenny, 50, walked out at Christmas, but they kept their separation quiet as George begged him for another chance. But despite remaining business partners in their art gallery in Dallas, Kenny decided enough was enough and told him they were history.

Devastated George then turned into “a hermit” in his North London mansion and sacked his loyal manager Andy Stephens.

One pal said: “Kenny had given George many chances. But after the Hampstead Heath incident he said he couldn’t take any more. Everyone knew George wasn’t just in there to do drugs – the place is well known as a place to pick up men.”

“Despite George saying they had an open relationship, Kenny never agreed with George’s urges to go out cruising for other men, or with his excessive use of cannabis. He is embarrassed by what George had put him through.”

“They had been due to marry on their 10th anniversary back in 2006, but Kenny told him it was off unless he changed his ways. But it seems George just couldn’t.”

When Kenny walked out, George postponed all his work commitments, including the release of a DVD for his 25 Live Tour. He refused to leave his house and became addicted to computer games. Then he shocked manager Andy by duetting with Beyonce at the O2 Arena in June without warning.

His irrational behaviour has become a cause of concern for his pals. One said: “When Kenny left him, George wasn’t in the right frame of mind for anything. He seemed to become really depressed and no one could talk him out of it. He had promised to release a Live In London DVD of the tour but he couldn’t get it together to even look at clips of himself. Only now is he starting to get his head around it and is releasing it on December 7 – almost a year later.

“George would get up at 2pm, have a couple of spliffs, and play computer games until 7am, then do it all again the next day.

“His manager Andy couldn’t get through to him. And then he was absolutely furious when he found out he had driven himself to the O2 and got on stage with Beyonce. He tried to confront the star about it but George sacked him.”

“George also has all these ideas about going back on the road – but no one knows if his state of mind will take it. The split has hit him hard.”

[From the Mirror]

It does sound like George is self-destructing. Of course, I tend to think he’s been self-destructing for years now, and he’s only been keeping it relatively together because he had people around him who loved him and protected him. Now that Kenny’s gone and George has fired his longtime manager, perhaps this is George’s rock-bottom. Will he clean up his act and try to get Kenny back? Or will he fall further, and end up drugged out in yet another bathroom with yet another undercover cop?

UPDATE: Now George Michael’s rep is telling the Daily Mail that he and Kenny have not split. The rep says: “There is no truth in the matter at all. Kenny has been away in Dallas where he owns a gallery but is scheduled to return home this Friday. They are planning a lovely weekend together.” Strange. I guess they’re sticking with it after all.

Rupert Murdoch-owned British gossip papers News of The World and The Sun have been implicated in a massive scandal involving paying private detectives to tap into the phones of thousands of celebrities and public figures including Gwyneth Paltrow, George Michael, Elle Macpherson, and now-deceased Jade Goody. Those are just some of the names which have been released. News of The World went to great lengths to conceal this illegal activity, paying off three victims and ensuring that all the evidence in the cases were sealed. Journalists are said to have hired a private investigator who, along with illegal wiretapping, regularly conducted searches of police databases and paid off employees of various companies and groups for information. What’s more is that The Daily Mail is involved too even though they’re owed by another company, because they hired that same investigator to get information illegally.

Murdoch owns News Corp, the parent company to Fox News, The New York Post, and The Wall St. Journal. He denies knowing anything about this illegal activity. The editor mentioned, Andrew Coulson, worked for News of The World from 2003 to January, 2007, when he resigned over the royal phone tapping scandal. (In August, 2006, journalist Clive Goodman was caught intercepting some of the royals’ phone calls, for which he spent four months in jail. That obviously wasn’t an isolated incident.) Coulson also worked at The Sun, as editor of The “Bizarre” column, from 1998 to 2003, which is possibly why The Sun is involved too. [Note that while this report claims a "thousand" public figures were targeted, the originating story in The Guardian says that "several thousand public figures were targeted."]

Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World and Sun newspapers face separate investigations by London police and U.K. lawmakers over claims they obtained personal information through illegal means.

The Metropolitan Police will look into the allegations, Commissioner Paul Stephenson said in a statement today. Thirty- one journalists working for the tabloid newspapers acquired private information through “blagging,” or underhand means, the U.K.’s Information Commission said.

The Guardian reported yesterday that Murdoch’s News Corp. paid more than 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) to settle lawsuits claiming journalists used private investigators who illegally hacked into mobile phones of politicians, sports stars and entertainers. The report throws a spotlight on the news- gathering methods of the competitive U.K. newspaper industry.

“If things came to a head and there was enough political interest in this,” the newspapers and individual journalists could face criminal charges for breaching data privacy laws, said Nick Graham, the head of the information and privacy practice at Denton Wilde Sapte LLP in London.

Cameron Twist

In Parliament, Home Office minister David Hanson told lawmakers the government first learned of the Guardian’s allegations last night. He said he couldn’t answer questions on why the victims, which the report said included former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, hadn’t been told by the police.

The report has taken on a political twist, drawing in Andy Coulson, the communications chief of David Cameron, leader of the U.K.’s opposition Conservative Party. Coulson was formerly deputy editor and then editor of the News of the World.

The scoop by the Guardian, a pro-Labour party newspaper, is an attempt to go after the opposition Conservative party, said Lorna Tilbian, a media analyst at Numis Securities in London.

Coulson resigned as editor of News of the World in 2007 after reporter Clive Goodman was jailed along with private investigator Glenn Mulcaire for intercepting phone messages left for members of Prince Charles’ staff and of Gordon Taylor, chief executive officer of the Professional Footballers Association. Coulson at the time denied any knowledge of Goodman’s actions, which the newspaper portrayed as an isolated incident.

John Whittingdale, chairman of the House of Commons Media Committee, said today he will re-open an inquiry into the case.

“If there were more than 1,000 phone taps, it beggars belief that this was just one journalist and that senior executives didn’t know,” Liberal Democrat lawmaker Chris Huhne said in Parliament today.

Murdoch Unaware

The Information Commission said in an e-mailed statement today that it had documented “widespread media involvement in illegally obtaining personal information.”

“Following a court order in 2008 we made available a copy of some information from our investigation into the buying and selling of personal information, to lawyers acting on behalf of Gordon Taylor,” Mick Gorrill, assistant information commissioner at the Information Commission, said in the statement. “This included material that showed that 31 journalists working for The News of the World and The Sun had acquired people’s personal information through blagging.”

News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch said yesterday that he wasn’t aware of any payments made to settle legal cases in which the company’s newspaper reporters may have been involved in criminal activity. “If that had happened, I would know about it,” Murdoch said in an interview at the Allen & Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.

News International had no immediate comment, spokeswoman Daisy Dunlop said, but may release a statement later today.

Hacking Mobile Phones

According to the Guardian, Murdoch’s newspapers made out- of-court settlements that secured secrecy about three cases that may have shown evidence of journalists using investigators who hacked into the mobile-phone messages of public figures to access confidential personal data.

The newspaper said the conning of government agencies, phone companies and others into divulging information, before the mobile phone-hacking activity, occurred when Coulson was deputy and Rebekah Wade was the editor.

[From Bloomberg.com]

Celebrities and public figures in the UK are said to be talking to their lawyers and considering taking legal action against News of The World. Many people who were targeted don’t know about it, though, because the police have taken the controversial stance of not yet informing all the victims. Considering that one journalist got four months for tapping a single royal home this could turn into a huge series of trial with severe consequences for some of the journalists. If Coulson was the mastermind, he should pay the most though.

Gwyneth is shown on 5/15/08. George Michael is shown on 6/17/08./ Credit: WENN.com

George Michael was a favorite for next year’s lifetime achievement special award at British music awards show, the BRITs, but has been dropped from the shortlist after his latest scrape with the law. Michael’s September drug arrest was the latest in a string of offenses ranging from marijuana to engaging in lewd acts plaguing the singer over the last ten years.

George Michael has been axed from next year’s Brit Awards, as reported by Mirror. “George was frontrunner to get the lifetime achievement award. But Brits bosses felt it would be better not to be associated with him for the time being since the Brits is a shop window for our music,” a source from the music industry says.

In a further statement, the source explains that the two-time Grammy Awards winning musician was scrapped as the candidate of “Outstanding Contribution to Music” category after he had been arrested in Hampstead Heath area of north London with crack cocaine in September. Bosses from the prestigious event are said to be searching for another candidate to be honored.

[From AceShowbiz]

George Michael has had more than his share of embarrassing legal situations, but I fail to see how that diminishes his contribution to music. Not being a huge fan of the guy, I don’t think I’ve heard anything he’s released since “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”, a song that just writes it’s own jokes with Michael, but his work in the 80′s/early 90′s alone deserves the comendations.

George seems to be dealing with alot of inner demons and only appears to be finding pretty harmful ways of exising them. Ten years of arrests, all for very public downfalls, screams self-loathing and confusion. He always sounds remorseful and it’s easy to believe him, that he’s sorry and won’t let it happen again, but he can’t seem to help himself. He apologized again after his most recent drug bust.

Previously, the 45-year-old singer revealed his regret referring to the scandal. “I want to apologize to my fans for screwing up again and to promise them I’ll sort myself out. And to say sorry to everybody else, just for boring them,” he stated.

[From AceShowbiz]

I’m going to accept your apology again, George, and believe in you that you can sort yourself out, because I can’t help it. I look at that face and want to believe that life can be as pretty. But I’m also not going to bank any money on it.

George Michael is sown performing the last concert of his 2 year tour in Copenhagen on 8/30/08. Credit: Uffe Kongsted/Fame Pictures

Singer George Michael has been arrested in the past for having drugs in his car and for soliciting sex in a public bathroom, but he’d yet to be arrested for drugs in a public bathroom – until Friday. Michael, 45, was arrested in a public bathroom in Hampstead Heath, a popular London park area. It is thought that he was in possession of crack cocaine. He was let off with just a caution, or a warning, which seems to be typical of this type of minor drug case in England – if Pete Doherty’s storied record is anything to go by.

Michael has been unable to drive since May, 2007, when his license was revoked for two years for an October, 2006 incident in which he was found passed out in his car with marijuana. He was also busted passed out in his parked car with drugs in February, 2006, and at that time it was also pot and poppers, or amyl nitrite. If he was found with crack on Friday it looks like he’s got a more serious problem and has graduated to the hard stuff:

The singer George Michael has been cautioned after being arrested in a public toilet for possession of drugs, thought to include crack cocaine.

“A 45-year-old man was arrested on 19 September on suspicion of possession of drugs in the Hampstead Heath area,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.

The singer was taken to a police station and given the caution for possessing class A and class C drugs.

Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said drug laws needed to be “flexible”.

Asked why Michael had been given a relatively mild punishment for the possession of class A drugs, Mr McNulty said he did not know the details of the case.

George Michael has been in trouble with police before

But he added that the law provides a wide range of punishments for possession of drugs, and “circumstances and context” had to be applied.

[From BBC via WeSmirch]

The BBC reminds us that Michael has been doing relatively well in the past year. He just finished his world tour in August, and has a multi-million dollar book deal with HarperCollins for his tell-all autobiography.

The guy has long had a penchant for public sex – he was busted by the News of The World in June, 2006 with a paunchy 58 year-old unemployed guy in a public park. Michael was first pushed out of the closet in 1998 after an infamous arrest for soliciting sex from an undercover cop in a Beverly Hills bathroom. There wasn’t any mention of Michael attempting to score in this latest incident and it’s possible he was only in the park to get drugs.

It seemed like Michael had his drug habit down to just smoking pot and getting wasted, but that he’d cleaned up after his arrests and comeback tour. Maybe he’ll go to rehab now so he can achieve sobriety during his semi-retirement.

George Michael is shown performing his last concert his last concert at Earls Court in London on 8/25/08. Credit: Daniel Deme / WENN