Singer George Michael was the subject of persistent rumors about his sexuality until he was forced to come out in 1988.
That year, the British singer was arrested for lewd conduct in a Los Angeles men's room.
In an interview with CNN, Michael explained that he felt "stupid" about the circumstances but added that he wasn't ashamed of his sexuality.
"[I've come out] in a way that I really didn't intend to," Michael told CNN's Jim Moret. "And I think having done something as stupid as that – you know, I'm a very proud man, I want people to know that I have not been exposed as a gay man. I don't feel any shame. I feel stupid and I feel reckless and weak for having allowed my sexuality to be exposed this way, but I don't feel any shame whatsoever. And neither do I think I should."
In a 2009 The Huffington Post interview, Michael said that his depression as Wham! ended was due to his increasing awareness that he "was gay, not bisexual."
"I used to sleep with women quite a lot in the Wham! days but never felt it could develop into a relationship because I knew that, emotionally, I was a gay man. I didn't want to commit to them but I was attracted to them. Then I became ashamed that I might be using them," he told GQ in 2013.
One of Michael's major relationships with men was with Brazilian dress designer Anselmo Feleppa. The men met in 1991. Feleppa died two years later of an AIDS-related brain hemorrhage. Michael had a long-term relationship that lasted more than a dozen years with sportswear executive Kenny Goss. Michael said in 2011 that the relationship had ended two years earlier.
In a statement given to the Dallas Morning News, Goss said that he was "heartbroken" to hear of Michael's sudden death.
Michael's boyfriend Fadi Fawaz said Monday he had discovered Michael's body. "I will never stop missing you xx," he said in a tweet.
That year, the British singer was arrested for lewd conduct in a Los Angeles men's room.
In an interview with CNN, Michael explained that he felt "stupid" about the circumstances but added that he wasn't ashamed of his sexuality.
"[I've come out] in a way that I really didn't intend to," Michael told CNN's Jim Moret. "And I think having done something as stupid as that – you know, I'm a very proud man, I want people to know that I have not been exposed as a gay man. I don't feel any shame. I feel stupid and I feel reckless and weak for having allowed my sexuality to be exposed this way, but I don't feel any shame whatsoever. And neither do I think I should."
In a 2009 The Huffington Post interview, Michael said that his depression as Wham! ended was due to his increasing awareness that he "was gay, not bisexual."
"I used to sleep with women quite a lot in the Wham! days but never felt it could develop into a relationship because I knew that, emotionally, I was a gay man. I didn't want to commit to them but I was attracted to them. Then I became ashamed that I might be using them," he told GQ in 2013.
One of Michael's major relationships with men was with Brazilian dress designer Anselmo Feleppa. The men met in 1991. Feleppa died two years later of an AIDS-related brain hemorrhage. Michael had a long-term relationship that lasted more than a dozen years with sportswear executive Kenny Goss. Michael said in 2011 that the relationship had ended two years earlier.
In a statement given to the Dallas Morning News, Goss said that he was "heartbroken" to hear of Michael's sudden death.
Michael's boyfriend Fadi Fawaz said Monday he had discovered Michael's body. "I will never stop missing you xx," he said in a tweet.
Article provided in partnership with On Top Magazine
