THE iPINIONS JOURNAL: Wham! bam thank you…man? Evidently, that’s the way George Michael likes it…

I couldn’t care any less what grown men do in private, behind closed doors. But when they treat places of public accommodation like gay bath houses, I find that utterly repugnant!

Therefore, I had mixed feelings in 1998 when superstar singer George Michael was outed. Because I appreciated the fact that – having so much invested in pretending to be a ladies’ man – the last thing he (or his record label) wanted was to have that Fantasy dispelled - especially for the millions of women he depended on to buy his albums.

On the other hand, I was thoroughly disgusted when I read how Michael was outed. Because, after public complaints about men engaging in lewd behavior in the public toilets of a Los Angeles park, the LAPD undercover crime suppression unit was forced to set up a sting to catch the perverts. And, alas, Michael was caught after he propositioned a vice cop in one of those toilets.

Of course, following the Hugh Grant blueprint for celebrity rehabilitation after being caught with one’s pants down, Michael went on all of the talk shows and made light of his “momentary lapse in judgment”. Indeed, he even went so far as to parody the incident in a cynical, yet self-righteous, music video called, Outside.

But no one could have imagined that Michael’s indecent proposal would be a tipping point toward a life noted more for his public drunkenness and lewd public behavior than for his soulful recordings and riveting concert performances. Moreover, no one could have imagined that this man who almost dethroned Michael Jackson as the king of pop was also, in fact, almost as perverted as MJ. Yet, such has been the highs and lows of Michael’s life since 1998.

Therefore, none of his fans and loved ones were surprised by reports on Sunday that paparazzi commissioned by the News of the World had caught him cruising in a London park for a little Fastlove. The Strangest Thing, though, is that when [He] Is In Need Of Love Today, Michael seems defiantly unconcerned about being Safe from public view or STDs. And his Father-Figure lover on this occasion (right - 58, unemployed and living in squalid conditions with a 20-year-old cat) was all too eager to share lurid details in this respect, no doubt for a handsome fee. (Given his willingness to engage Michael in a Wham!-bam-thank-you-man frolic, obviously this Happy lover and Michael were both Kissing A Fool….)

But, never mind his fans and loved ones, here’s how one of the record-company executives who have made Michael the cash cow he’s become expressed their resigned frustration:

Until George realises he has a problem there is not a lot we can do….He thinks there is nothing wrong with the odd bit of cannabis use and he also thinks there is nothing wrong with having sex with strangers.

However, if any of you were to call him a Freeek!, Michael would probably say to you what he said to the paparazzo who caught him in the bush:

Are you gay? No? Then fuck off! This is my culture! I'm a free man, I can do whatever I want. I'm not harming anyone.

Clearly, his Careless Whispers have evolved into a Killer approach to life - with Michael behaving as if It Doesn’t Really Matter anymore….

NOTE: Reports are that Michael’s latest indiscretion has finally forced his longsuffering boyfriend Kenny Goss to call off their wedding and kick him to the curb. And, frankly, it’s about time. Because no lover should be required to have so much Faith and Patience in the face of such brazen infidelities and disrespect!

ENDNOTE: This latest incident really should sound the end note for Michael’s singer career. However, in today’s culture of amoral celebrity worship, I doubt it will have any deleterious effect. In fact, I suspect this has only increased interest in his upcoming “50-concert comeback tour, which sold out in half an hour.”

Although, I think he's only worthy of performing as the opening act for a M&M Redemption Tour – headlined, of course, by Michael Jackson....

UPDATE (9:15 am): The London Sun reports today that the "wedding is back on" after Michael gave Goss a £1m gift - with this endearing and promising thought:

We had a lovely 10th anniversary party and actually my 10th anniversary present to him cost me a million quid so I reckon I should get away with more then.