George Michael publicly came out as gay in April 1998, in a televised CNN interview following his arrest in Los Angeles earlier that year.

Quick Scoop: What Happened?

  • He was arrested in 1998 in a public restroom in Beverly Hills during a “lewd act” sting operation by an undercover police officer.
  • Shortly after, he chose to address the incident openly on CNN, where he confirmed he was a gay man and talked about being in a relationship with a man.
  • In that interview, he said he didn’t feel shame about being gay, only about the way it had been exposed.

Private vs Public “Coming Out”

  • Privately, George Michael had already come out to close friends much earlier, including his Wham! bandmate Andrew Ridgeley around 1983, after they filmed the “Club Tropicana” video.
  • Publicly, though, the world generally marks 1998 as the moment “George Michael came out,” because that’s when he clearly stated his sexuality on international television.

Later Reflections

  • In later interviews, he said he had been open with many people since his late teens but regretted not coming out publicly sooner, feeling it might have made him personally happier even if it affected his career.

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