George Michael’s former partner Kenny Goss has opened up about the late star’s arrest, which resulted in him being outed as gay in the press.
In April 1998, the former Wham! singer was arrested after being caught in a sexual act by an undercover police officer in a public toilet in Beverly Hills.
This led to headlines about George’s sexuality, which he had previously chosen to keep private.
In an interview with Radio Times to mark a new Channel 4 documentary, George Michael: Outed, Kenny – who was in a relationship with the singer between 1996 and 2011 – opened up about the “fateful day” George was arrested.
Recalling the world’s press knocking at their door, and helicopters circling above the house, Kenny said: “I was just trying to understand the situation and reassure George that everything would be OK.
“He was stressed out. He took to his bed, then the next morning, we got up, and I told him, ‘Yep, still a few helicopters up there’.”
Kenny said that while George initially “didn’t know what to do or what was going to happen”, he swung back into action within a day and a half.
“He had his plan of action. He wanted people to see him and that he was in good shape. Suddenly, he said, ‘We’re going out to dinner,’” Kenny recalled.
However, Kenny said he spent disproportionate amount of time worrying about George in the subsequent 13 years they were still together.
“From the moment he was arrested, when he wasn’t with me, there was always a little bit of me, thinking, is he going to be OK?” he admitted. “I was always worried about what might happen, that he might get into trouble again.”
Read the full interview with Kenny Goss in this week’s issue of Radio Times, on sale now. George Michael: Outed airs on Channel 4 on 6 and 7 March at 9pm.
