Singer George Michael has been given an
8-week jail sentence and fined nearly $2,000 for driving while under
the influence of drugs, the BBC reported.
The Faith singer's conviction
resulted from an early morning July 4 arrest after he smashed his
Range Rover into a Snappy Snaps 1 hour photo shop in Hampstead, north
London. He is seen jumping the curb on closed-circuit TV footage
obtained by officials. The crash reportedly occurred after the
openly gay Michael attended London's gay pride parade and festival.
Last month, Michael pleaded guilty to
the charges, which resulted in a six-month driving ban.
Two days after the arrest, the former
Wham! singer issued a short statement, in which he said he wanted to
apologize to his fans for “screwing up again” and promised he
would “sort myself out.” The gay icon then added: “And to say
sorry to everybody else, just for boring them.”
The pop superstar clearly was alluding
to a long string of driving-related incidents going back to 2006.
Police found Michael slumped over the
wheel of his car in a February 2006 incident. In 2007, he lost his
driving privileges for two years after he smashed into three parked
cars while under the influence of drugs.
Michael's 1998 arrest for lewd conduct
in a Los Angeles men's room forced the singer to come out gay. He's
since said the arrest was “a huge relief and it took me about a
year to admit to myself that I had done it, deliberately.”