What to watch
In April 1998, the world woke up to lurid headlines that pop superstar George Michael had been arrested for soliciting a “lewd act” in a Los Angeles public toilet. Slickly marketed for years as every young girl’s dream as the lead singer of Wham! (though, as one contributor puts it, “all the signs were there”), the revelation that Michael was gay could have been career-ending given the tabloid frenzy that followed. But instead, the
incident became a defining moment for gay liberation. Tonight’s opening episode (of two, both available on All 4 from tonight) looks back to the early days of the singer’s career, when coming out in a world gripped by the 1980s Aids crisis, where homophobia was still widespread, might not have been the best career move for a budding pop star. Interviews with Michael’s former partner, Kenny Goss, as well as his friend Andros Georgiou and manager Simon Napierbell, give this informative documentary heft. However, contributions from some of the chief scandalmongers of the time, including the founder of the LA news agency that broke the story (“Our motto was ‘your misfortune is our fortune’”) demonstrate all too clearly the media hypocrisy, opportunism and homophobia that he was up against.