In 1998 George Michael was arrested and charged over a lewd act
Pop singer George Michael made headlines around the globe when he was arrested on this day in 1998.
The British-born singer was arrested for “engaging in a lewd act” in a public restroom at Will Rogers Memorial Park in Hollywood. His arrest was part of a sting operation conducted by Los Angeles police. In an interview with MTV, the singer described what happened.
“I got followed into the restroom and then this cop—I didn’t know it was a cop, obviously—he started playing this game, which I think is called, ‘I’ll show you mine, you show me yours, and then when you show me yours, I’m going to nick you!’” Michael recounted.
The musician did not shy away from his arrest. Days later he went on CNN and spoke openly about his sexuality for the first time, telling host Jim Moret that he was gay. Michael shared that he’d entered into his first same-sex relationship when he was 27 and had kept his sexuality private because of the intense scrutiny he faced earlier in his career.
“I spent the first half of my career being accused of being gay when I hadn’t had anything like a gay relationship,” Michael said in the interview. “So I spent my years growing up being told what my sexuality was really … which was kind of confusing.”
George Michael pleaded “no contest” to the charge and was fined USD $810 and sentenced to 80 hours of community service. Shortly afterwards he made light of his arrest when he released a new song called Outside, all about the joys of having sex in risky situations. The video featured a public bathroom that morphed into a disco, and kissing police officers.
Marcello Rodriguez, the policeman who arrested the singer, attempted to sue for damages, saying the video and interviews Michael had given mocked him. He asked the court to order Michael to pay USD $10 million in damages. The case was dismissed, and after an appeal it was ruled that Rodriguez, as a public official, was not eligible to make the claim.
The singer went on to become a vocal voice for LGBTIQA+ rights and proudly spoke about his sexuality on many occasions.
Actor Gorden Kaye from ”Allo ‘Allo’ was born in 1941
Gorden Kaye was born on this day in 1941. Although he was given the traditional spelling “Gordon” at birth, he later explained that the “e” in his professional name came from a typing error when he first registered with the union Actors’ Equity.
He got his first break acting on radio, and from the late 1960s often appeared in small parts and guest roles on British television series. You can spot him in All Creatures Great and Small, Minder, Are You Being Served? and It Ain’t Half Hot Mum. Kaye also appeared in small roles in two films by Monty Python director Terry Gilliam: Brazil and Jabberwocky.
His most famous role, however, began in 1982 when he was cast as bumbling café owner René Artois in the long‑running sitcom ’Allo ’Allo. The pilot was filmed in 1982, but it would be two years before the series went into full production in 1984. It continued until 1992. Kaye appeared in all 84 episodes and later reprised the role in a stage production that toured Australia.
In the 1980s Kaye was outed as gay by the British tabloids. At the time he was appearing on stage at the Palladium Theatre in the West End. When the curtain rose for his next performance, the audience gave him an enthusiastic standing ovation to show they couldn’t have cared less about his sexuality.
In his autobiography René and Me, he wrote about the challenges of being a gay, overweight, shy youth in the 1950s. In 1990, Kaye suffered a serious head injury when fierce storms hit the British coast. He was in an accident when a wooden advertising board crashed through his car windscreen. He suffered significant amnesia afterwards, and filming on the next series of ’Allo ’Allo was delayed.
Kaye lived with dementia in his final years and passed away in January 2017.
Happy Birthday to Janis Ian
Singer Janis Ian celebrates her birthday today. The singer announced that she was gay in 1993, and married her partner Patricia Snyder in 2003. The couple have been together since 1989.
Ian, who scored a Grammy in 1975 for her tune At Seventeen, picked up a second Grammy in 2013 for the spoken‑word recording of her autobiography. While she may not be at the top of the charts like she was in the 1970s, Janis Ian has continued to release albums regularly, predominantly in the folk genre.
The prolific singer‑songwriter has seen her work recorded by a variety of artists including Cher, Nina Simone, Amy Grant, Bette Midler and Sheena Easton. In 2022, Ian said her latest album – the 24th release of her career — would be her final recording.
One of our favourite Janis Ian recordings is her 1979 hit Fly Too High, which was produced by disco legend Giorgio Moroder. It reached Number 7 on the Australian charts in early 1980.
OIP Staff, this post was first published in 2023
