Outed reveals George Michael’s fight for gay liberation

As the outpouring of grief that followed his death on Christmas Day in 2016 proved, George Michael was a huge and much-loved star.

The singer-songwriter, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, had first found fame as a pop pin-up in the band Wham!, before achieving even greater success as a solo artist. In doing so, he arguably set the template for Robbie Williams, Harry Styles and any other boyband member who wanted to prove they could be taken seriously.

His career is arguably even more remarkable when you consider that in 1998, George was embroiled in an incident that could have theoretically ended it. That was the year he was arrested for committing a lewd act in a public toilet, which sent the tabloids into a frenzy.

Kevin Smith, founder of Splash News, an agency renowned for breaking celebrity scandals, reveals: “the gloves were off, the moment the news was out.”

Yet, as George Michael: Outed reveals, the singer was able to take back control of the story and turn what could have been a PR disaster into a defining moment of gay liberation.

To find out how, this two-part programme draws on never-before-heard audio of the man himself, as well as interviews with his inner-circle, including his partner at the time, Kenny Goss, and cousin and business partner Andros Georgiou.

It begins though by asking why there was a secret to expose in the first place. The first episode looks back to the early days of Wham!, when, as his former manager Simon Napier-Bell explains: “It would probably be better if George wasn’t gay.”

As the decade progressed, and the Aids crisis sparked a moral panic, coming out arguably became an even more difficult prospect. Former Communard Richard Coles suggests: “If you were nervous about how you might be perceived as a gay man in 1982, by 1986, you would have perhaps more reason to be.”

And as George himself would later reflect: “’If you have the option of hiding, when you’re more successful than you ever dreamed you’re going to be, what are you gonna do?”

The second episode, which is broadcast on Tuesday, explores how losing his partner Anselmo Feleppa to AIDS in 1993 prompted George to come out to his parents. However, when it came to the public, he continued to keep his sexuality private.

Then the 1998 arrest took the decision out of his hands. With the tabloids threatening to make more revelations, George gave an interview to Jim Moret from TV news channel CNN, where he told the world he was gay and declared ‘I don’t feel any shame’.

As Will Young reveals, it was a moment that would give hope to other gay young men. And just in case there was any doubt that George had taken back control of the narrative, he later released the single Outside, complete with a video where he was seen dancing in a police uniform in a public toilet that turned into a disco.

The documentary explores not just how George took on the tabloids and won, but also what the story says about changing attitudes.