British singer George Michael has said
that coming out gay has made his life more difficult.
Michael on Tuesday released Symphonica,
his first studio album in seven years, which was recorded during his
2011-2012 Symphonica tour of the UK and Europe.
In comments to the
BBC, Michael, who was forced to come out after a 1998 arrest for
lewd conduct in a Los Angeles men's room, said he wouldn't judge
someone for not coming out, “because it's about family.”
“For some strange reason, my gay life
didn't get easier when I came out,” Michael said. “Quite the
opposite happened, really. The press seemed to take some delight
that I previously had a 'straight audience,' and set about trying to
destroy that. And I think some men were frustrated that their
girlfriends wouldn't let go of the idea that George Michael just
hadn't found the 'right girl.' Which is what a lot of my extended
family still think!”
“In the years when HIV was a killer,
any parent of an openly gay person was terrified. I knew my mother
well enough that she would spend everyday praying that I didn't come
across that virus. She'd have worried like that,” Michael said of
coming out.
Symphonica
is available at Amazon.