Elton John “shocked” that George Michael blames him for woes
The gay pop star Sir Elton John said yesterday that that he was shocked that fellow gay star George Michael blames him over his troubled lifestyle.
In an interview to be broadcast this evening, George Michael will tell Michael Parkinson: “Nobody wants to shunt another car or be found asleep behind the wheel. But they’re not life-changing events.
“Unfortunately every artist nowadays has a soap opera and it’s decided where they’re going to be in that, the trajectory of my particular soap opera launched from that statement Elton made about 18 months ago when he hadn’t seen me for years.
“For some reason, from that point on, I’ve been trying to prove that I’m not really miserable. That unfortunately made me really vulnerable to the press.”
In 2004, Sir Elton told the newspapers: “George is in a strange place. There appears to be deep-rooted unhappiness in his life.”
The Daily Mirror today claims that a shocked Sir Elton asked a friend: “Did I crash George’s car? Was I found slumped over the wheel in Hyde Park? No.”
The unnamed friend told the newspaper: “The friend said: “Elton has been sober for 14 years and only ever sought to help George. He’s been there. He’s had his problems and accepted responsibility. He never blamed anyone.
“Elton is shocked and very upset he’s been dragged into this. He’s getting on with his life.
“George needs to start taking responsibility for his own actions and stop blaming everyone else. It’s a terrible shame.”
Meanwhile, George Michael has announced his first international tour for 15 years from this September.
Parkinson is on ITV1 at 10.15pm on Saturday.
