George Michael: From closeted life to gay rights advocate

LONDON | Pop superstar George Michael concealed his homosexuality, as well as the trauma of his boyfriend’s death, for years but later became a gay rights advocate and key supporter of HIV campaigns.

Michael, who died Sunday at 53, only came out as gay in 1998 — nearly two decades into his career — after being caught by police in a “lewd act” in a public bathroom in a park in Los Angeles.

His sexuality was by then an open secret in show business but Michael said he did not go public so as not to worry his mother because of fears about the AIDS virus in the gay community at the time.

“Understand how much I love my family and that AIDS was a predominant feature of being gay in the 1980s and early 1990s as far as any parent was concerned,” he told BBC Radio in an interview in 2007.

“My mother was still alive and every single day would have been a nightmare for her thinking what I might have been subjected to,” explained Michael.

Initially confused about his sexuality, Michael said he realized he was gay by the end of the 1980s.

‘FEARFUL PERIOD TO BE GAY’

Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said that concern for his mother may not have been the only reason Michael chose not to come out.

“Back then, the red tops were vicious to gay public figures,” he said, referring to popular tabloid papers like the News of the World and The Sun.

“They were vilified and smeared. Being gay was portrayed as a scandal and shame.”

Tatchell said the explosion of AIDS led to a sharp rise in homophobic public attitudes.

“Gay-bashings and murders rocketed. It was a fearful period to be gay, let alone a gay public figure.

“I wish George had come out then. He could have helped counter that tide of prejudice. But I understand why he didn’t,” he said.

FIRST LOVE

At a concert in Rio de Janeiro in 1991, Michael met Anselmo Feleppa, a Brazilian dress designer who became his first love.

“It’s very hard to be proud of your sexuality when it hasn’t given you any joy, but once you have found somebody you really love it’s not so tough,” Michael told the Huffington Post in an interview.

Six months into the relationship, they discovered Feleppa was HIV-positive — a devastating blow for Michael.

“I couldn’t go through it with my family because I didn’t know how to share it with them –- they didn’t even know I was gay,” he said.

Feleppa died of an AIDS-related brain haemorrhage in 1993.

Whenever performing the single “Jesus To A Child” from the album “Older” (1996), Michael dedicated it to Feleppa and the singer later said the entire album was a tribute to his late partner.

“Heaven sent/ And Heaven stole/ You smiled at me/ Like Jesus to a child,” Michael sings.

‘LIVE ON IN THE HEARTS’

Michael later told the BBC his arrest in 1998 may have been “a subconsciously deliberate act” to out himself and said he wished he had gone public sooner.

“I don’t think I would have had the same career –- my ego might not have been satisfied in some areas –- but I think I would have been a happier man,” he said.

The same year that he came out as gay, Michael began his public activism by helping with a documentary about six young people affected by the HIV virus to coincide with World Aids Day.

As part of his philanthropy — much of it under the radar — he was also a major supporter of the Terrence Higgins Trust, a British HIV charity.

“His donations contributed to a vision of a world where people living with HIV live healthy lives free from prejudice and discrimination,” the charity said in a Facebook post on Monday.

The gay rights group Stonewall said on Twitter: “You inspired many and your music will live on in the hearts of the community. You will be sorely missed”.

source: interaksyon.com

British pop star George Michael dies aged 53

LONDON - British pop singer George Michael, who rose to fame with the band Wham! and sold more than 100 million albums in his career, has died aged 53, his publicist said on Sunday.

"It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period," the publicist said in a statement.

"The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time."

Thames Valley Police said the ambulance service had attended a property in Goring in Oxfordshire, where the singer lived, at 1342 GMT on Sunday and a 53-year-old man was confirmed dead at the scene.

"At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. A post-mortem will be undertaken in due course," the police said.

Singer Elton John published a picture of himself with Michael on his Instagram account.

"I am in deep shock. I have lost a beloved friend - the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist," the British star wrote.

Michael was due to release a documentary in 2017 after a period of living as a virtual recluse in which he hit the headlines for a series of bizarre incidents linked to drugs.

Earlier this month it was also announced that producer and songwriter Naughty Boy, whose real name is Shahid Khan, was working with Michael on a new album for next year.

Michael was best known for his 1980s hits "Last Christmas", "Freedom", "Careless Whisper" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go".

Dreadful year

Many tributes to Michael referred to other music world deaths in 2016, starting with David Bowie in January and including Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt who died on Saturday.

"2016 - loss of another talented soul. All our love and sympathy to George Michael's family," the band Duran Duran, which were 1980s contemporaries of Wham!, said on their official Twitter account.

Former BBC Radio One disc jockey Tony Blackburn said: "Unbelievable, GeorgeMichael has died at the age of 53. RIP. This dreadful year goes on and on. So sad, a real talent".

Canadian musician Bryan Adams tweeted: "I can't believe it. Such an incredible singer and a lovely human being, far too young to leave us."

US singer La Toya Jackson wrote on Twitter: "You have given the world an amazing gift! What a talent! What a loss!".

Tributes poured in from outside the music world too.

Football presenter and former England captain Gary Lineker tweeted: "No, not GeorgeMichael as well. Another musical great leaves us this year. 2016 can just sod off."

"Star Trek" actor George Takei wrote: "Rest with the glittering stars, George Michael. You've found your Freedom, your Faith. It was your Last Christmas, and we shall miss you."

Drug charges, health scares
Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou to a Greek Cypriot father and English mother in north London in 1963.

He met Andrew Ridgeley at high school and the pair went on to form Wham! in 1981.

With their good looks, perma-tans, highlighted hair and hedonistic image, the duo captured the go-getting spirit of the age and fast became one of Britain's biggest pop acts.

In 1985, Wham! became the first major Western band to perform in China as it was slowly beginning to open up to the outside world under reformist leader Deng Xiaoping.

Following years of speculation over his sexuality, Michael came out as gay in 1998 after being arrested for committing a lewd act in the public toilet of a Los Angeles park.

It was the first of several incidents that were to overshadow his musical career in his later years.

He notched up police cautions for cannabis and crack cocaine possession and in 2010 was sentenced to eight weeks in jail after crashing his car into a London shop while under the influence of cannabis and prescription medication.

In 2011, he spent several weeks in hospital in Vienna after contracting pneumonia, later saying that he had been close to death.

There were fresh concerns in 2013 when he had to be airlifted to hospital after falling out of his chauffeur-driven Range Rover as it travelled at high speed on a motorway.

source: interaksyon.com