1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:16,159 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is the 2 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 1: story about a pop star, a pop star with a 3 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: rock and roll animal heart. It's about addiction and arrests, 4 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 1: forbidden love and and even more forbidden kink. It's about 5 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 1: a man who defined sex, who is lusted after bive millions, 6 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 1: but just couldn't find the confidence to see in himself 7 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: what so many others saw. This is a story about 8 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:48,239 Speaker 1: George Michael, a man who made great music. Unlike that 9 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: music I played for you at the top of the 10 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,280 Speaker 1: show that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop 11 00:00:54,320 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: for my melotron called drive by Gloryhole MK. Two. I 12 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: played you that loop because I can't afford the rights 13 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: to All My Life by KC and Jojo. And why 14 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: would I play you that specific slice of Silky Slow 15 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,960 Speaker 1: Jam Cheese. Could I afford it? Because that was the 16 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: number one song in America on April seventh, nineteen ninety eight, 17 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: And that was the day that George Michael walked into 18 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: the public bathroom at the Will Rogers Memorial Park in 19 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: Beverly Hills a closeted man and walked out in handcuffs. 20 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 1: On this episode, Modacks undercover cops, liquid ecstasy, the car crashes, 21 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,960 Speaker 1: notorious prisons, and George Michael. 22 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan, and this this disgrace Land. 23 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: It's the nineteen eighties. You're at home watching MTV. In 24 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:25,920 Speaker 1: every video by a major pop artist playing on your 25 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: family's tiny television screen, it's just so horny. You've got 26 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 1: prints climbing out of a bathtub and dragging his naked 27 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: body across the floor. And when doves cry, And now 28 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,119 Speaker 1: here's Madonna in a white wedding dress being bedded by 29 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: some casanova for the very first time, or so she 30 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: claims in like a virgin. And what gen x are 31 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: among us? Can forget Michael Jackson grabbing his jaunkin screaming 32 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: oh in Martin Scorsese's video for Bad. But as you 33 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: watch the endless parade of innuendo pass before your eyes, 34 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,240 Speaker 1: you come to the realization that no artist on MTV 35 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 1: right now in the late nineteen eighties is hornier than 36 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: George Michael. Sure, Prince Madonna and MJ are all kinky 37 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,520 Speaker 1: in their own ways, but George Michael is the kinkiest 38 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,079 Speaker 1: of them all. He puts it all out there as 39 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: clear as a Bell in the title of his first 40 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: single from Faith, his incredible nineteen eighty seven solo debut album. 41 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: The song is called I Want Your Sex, which you 42 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: know there's no subtext there at all. It's not she 43 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: bop or Dancing with Myself. What it is is a 44 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: horned up slice of stripped down synthpop, heavily inspired by 45 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: Prince's Kiss. And when the same churches and conservative watchdogs 46 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: who came after Prince for darling Nicky come after George's 47 00:03:56,240 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: tight fitting, denim clad ass with their pitchforks count with 48 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: the explanation that the song I Want Your Sex is 49 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: not about casual sex but monogamous sex, all while the 50 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: AIDS epidemic rages on in the background. George's defense doesn't 51 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: know favors. Neither is the song's music video, with all 52 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,040 Speaker 1: those body parts writhing on silk sheets and George himself 53 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: instantly iconic with his giant cross earring and impeccable stubble 54 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,919 Speaker 1: beard seductively tying a blindfold around a woman's eyes. The 55 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: BBC refuses to play the song before nine PM, and 56 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: many American radio stations ban it outright. But the more 57 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: people talk about I Want Your sex, whether good or bad, 58 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 1: the more it sells, quickly, sending its album Faith to 59 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,160 Speaker 1: the number one spot on the Billboard Album chart for 60 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 1: twelve weeks and then going on to winning Album of 61 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: the Year at the Grammys, thus making George Michael not 62 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: only the horniest artist in nineteen eighty eight, but also 63 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: the best selling artist mine nineteen eighty eight. Only five 64 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 1: years earlier, George Michael or Giorgio's kiegu panal Do as 65 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: was his given name, was dead broke, still living with 66 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: his parents, and just beginning to embark on a whirlwind 67 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,479 Speaker 1: journey as a member of the pop band Wham alongside 68 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: his friend Andrew Ridgeley. Fame came fast for George and Andrew, 69 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: but George quickly outgrew what he called the bright young 70 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:31,320 Speaker 1: thing image. He didn't want to sing cheeseball songs like 71 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:35,720 Speaker 1: wake Me Up Before You Go Go anymore. He couldn't 72 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:39,000 Speaker 1: pretend that everything was day glow colors, pearly white smiles 73 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:43,160 Speaker 1: and chews, life t shirts. Life had its dark places, 74 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: and it was in those dark places that George found 75 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 1: he was increasingly unable to escape. Despite being one of 76 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: the pre eminent sex idols of his dad desired by 77 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 1: hordes of fans who swooned over his Greek elvis smolder 78 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:01,719 Speaker 1: in that distinct and commanding voice. The things that George 79 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,840 Speaker 1: Michael desired, the real sex he wanted, he wasn't able 80 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: to have, at least not in the public eye. His 81 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 1: own personal kink, which he kept very secret, wasn't something 82 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: he could put in a song, at least for now. 83 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: He was sixteen years old when he began cruising for 84 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: sex with other men, or cottaging as it's called back 85 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,160 Speaker 1: in George's home country of England, and it wasn't just 86 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: the sex, but the pursuit of sex. The rush of strange, 87 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: anonymous men sending their strange anonymous glances, carrying out these 88 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: private fantasies and public places only added to the thrill, 89 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:44,160 Speaker 1: as did the ever existing chance that he'd get caught. Guilt, 90 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: as George himself once said, was a massive turn on. 91 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: Guilt got him off. Guilt was instilled early as a 92 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: foundation of a very traditional culture in which quote unquote 93 00:06:56,080 --> 00:07:00,160 Speaker 1: gay was something you caught like a cold, and the 94 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,599 Speaker 1: only thing George wanted to catch was the next kink. 95 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,680 Speaker 1: The more illicit, the better. But it was important that 96 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,560 Speaker 1: no one knew anything about this. He was terrified at 97 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: being outed, never mind what his own homophobic father would think. 98 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 1: He was more concerned about what it would mean for 99 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: his fame in his career. He worked tirelessly to keep 100 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 1: it all a secret. And if you've ever had a 101 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 1: hide who you really are from someone you know, it 102 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: could be isolating. For George Michael. He was hiding himself 103 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: from millions of adoring fans. Add to that a corrosive 104 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:35,520 Speaker 1: lack of self esteem that stuck with him for life. 105 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: And well, it's like he said in his song Praying 106 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: for Time, it's hard to love and there's so much 107 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 1: to hate. Hate came easy to George. Where the press 108 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: were involved, Are you gay? Was quickly becoming the first 109 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: and only question that most so called journalists were interested 110 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:57,960 Speaker 1: in asking. It was none of their fucking business. He 111 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 1: didn't tell them that he wasn't romantically involved with the 112 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: women he strategically surrounded himself with, or that he wrote 113 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 1: I Want your sex for an unrequited crush he had 114 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: on a straight French playboy, and he certainly didn't tell 115 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: that anything about who he'd met down in Rio and 116 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: brought back with him to his house. In Los Angeles. 117 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 1: The papers had no clue that a man named Enselmo 118 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: Philippa had finally allowed George Michael to want not just 119 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: sex but love. And George Michael didn't know that his 120 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: love within Selmo, while beautiful in life, affirming in a 121 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:36,320 Speaker 1: way he'd never known, was also doomed, and that in 122 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: the aftermath of that love he would wind up deeper 123 00:08:39,800 --> 00:09:08,959 Speaker 1: in the darkness, where his old kinks would be waiting control. 124 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: For some, when you lose it, it costs a lot 125 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:16,520 Speaker 1: to get it back. For music festival promoter Roberto Medina, 126 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: the cost to once again being control was five million dollars, 127 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: or rather, that's how much his family pooned up to 128 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: guarantee his safe release. The Arab men from Rio de 129 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: Janeiro's criminal underworld, who kidnapped him three weeks earlier, kept 130 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 1: there under the bargain. They let Medina go and moved 131 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 1: on to the next powerful Brazilion they could abduct and 132 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 1: demand a heavy ransom for. In return, Medina got back 133 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 1: to his life controlling what he could, which in his 134 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: case meant planning the music festival Rock in Rio, a 135 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 1: highly ambitious nine night affair with big corporate sponsorships and 136 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,320 Speaker 1: even bigger names that was scheduled to take place in 137 00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: January of nineteen ninety one, some artists turned to when 138 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 1: it became known that Medina's kidnapping ordeal was no isolated incident. 139 00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:08,440 Speaker 1: Not George Michael. The one point five million dollars he 140 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: was getting paid to play two nights at the festival 141 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:14,600 Speaker 1: was one reason why the forearmed bodyguards were four more. 142 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 1: And then there were his other demands. To sweeten the pot, 143 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: he had Medina pay for his friends to fly down 144 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,320 Speaker 1: to Rio two, put them all up, and not just anywhere, 145 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:27,840 Speaker 1: but at the Royal Rio Palace, the same place Sinatra 146 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,560 Speaker 1: State when Medina brought Old Blue Eyes to Brazil for 147 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:34,480 Speaker 1: the first time some ten years earlier. And then when 148 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: the Royal Rio Palace wasn't good enough for George, he 149 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 1: had Medina move him to the even swanky or Copacabana Palace, 150 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: specifically into the very suite where his friend Princess Diana 151 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: had once stayed. What the hell else was Medina gonna do. 152 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: He gave five million to armed thugs like it was nothing, 153 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: and the least he could do was give a fraction 154 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: of that to a guy who was royalty, himself musical royalty. 155 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:04,360 Speaker 1: Even back in the Wham years, George was a star, 156 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,400 Speaker 1: the kind of star for whom demands were non negotiable. 157 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: George expected the very best, even if that meant paying 158 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,680 Speaker 1: ten grand to fly his stylist sister across the Atlantic 159 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: to fix his hair for a video shoot. George Michael, 160 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 1: not Roberto Medina, was the one truly in control, control 161 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: of his image, his narrative, his closeted life only. He 162 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: said what photos of him could be used and what 163 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 1: photos could not. For his second solo album, Listen Without 164 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,440 Speaker 1: Prejudice Volume one, a record intended to be a more 165 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:43,000 Speaker 1: mature artistic statement, he tore down his own iconography, literally 166 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:46,160 Speaker 1: torching the leather jacket from faith in the music video 167 00:11:46,559 --> 00:11:49,959 Speaker 1: for Freedom ninety, a video which featured five of the 168 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 1: hottest women in the world at the time, Linda Evangelista, 169 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford aka Cindy c, Tatiana Patiss and 170 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:03,320 Speaker 1: Christy Turlington him but most notably did not feature the 171 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:06,640 Speaker 1: man of the hour, George Michael. In a video made 172 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: about the soon to be famous film director David Fincher, 173 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:11,640 Speaker 1: an equal to George Michael, when it came to artistic control. 174 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: But I digress. The Freedom ninety video played on what 175 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:19,719 Speaker 1: felt like a NonStop loop on MTV. Yet for all 176 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: the sex oozing from the screen, George Michael was, like 177 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 1: I said, conspicuously absent from it. He knew exactly what 178 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,040 Speaker 1: he was doing, just like he knew what he was 179 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: doing back when Faith was released, and his self described 180 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:35,960 Speaker 1: goal was to cross over not to the pop chart 181 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:39,040 Speaker 1: as was typically the case, but to the soul in 182 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 1: R and B charts. It was one thing to see 183 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:45,080 Speaker 1: his ballad One More Try top what was then called 184 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:47,840 Speaker 1: the Hot Black Singles chart. But when he beat both 185 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:51,240 Speaker 1: Michael Jackson and Bobby Brown to win Best Soul R 186 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:54,520 Speaker 1: and B Artist at the nineteen eighty nine American Music Awards, 187 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 1: singers like Dion Warwick very publicly were like, uh, what 188 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: the fuck? The Dog Corney, host of Soul Trains, said 189 00:13:01,679 --> 00:13:05,199 Speaker 1: of that particular win, this being a quote unquote free country, 190 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,079 Speaker 1: people are entitled to call George Michael a soul artist 191 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:10,920 Speaker 1: and in effect changed the meaning of the word soul. 192 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: But at the Rock and Rio in January nineteen ninety one, 193 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,839 Speaker 1: twenty seven year old George Michael's soul was very much 194 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 1: alive and kicking out in the crowd. One of the 195 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:27,079 Speaker 1: locals in Selmo Philippa, seven years George's senior, was staring 196 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:32,040 Speaker 1: directly into it. Then Selmo's eyes burrowed deep into the 197 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: pop stars sexually charged Aura. He was smitten. He was 198 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:40,440 Speaker 1: struck by George, Michael's beauty, his voice, the whole package. 199 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:44,080 Speaker 1: And this wasn't a fanboy thing. Enselmo was at the 200 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 1: show for the experience and for some of the other performances, 201 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: not George specifically, but right now he felt a connection. 202 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: He simply had to meet him. In the next day, 203 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,200 Speaker 1: and Selmo tracked George down at the Copacabana Palace and 204 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: watched as he got into a taxi. He greased the 205 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: palm of one of the caves at the hotel stand 206 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:07,400 Speaker 1: to give up George's destination and buzios a few hours away, 207 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: and with the help of a well connected friend who 208 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: owned a house in that resort town, Anselmo skipped work 209 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:16,680 Speaker 1: and made the two hour drive. He found George and 210 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:18,640 Speaker 1: a club dancing and partying. 211 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 3: Walked over to him and told him straight up, I'm 212 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 3: in Selmo Filippe and I followed you for two hundred miles. Typically, 213 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 3: a confession like this from a complete stranger would set 214 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 3: off red flags for anyone, not least of them being 215 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 3: an international pop star with a legion of fans, some 216 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 3: of them crazed. George Michael, however, had been enjoying the 217 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,800 Speaker 3: company of strangers since he was sixteen, and this sort 218 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 3: of thing didn't frighten him in the least. In fact, 219 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,560 Speaker 3: it turned him on. But there was something different about 220 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,440 Speaker 3: in Selmo. He was more than a passing encounter in. 221 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:55,240 Speaker 1: A public toilet. George could have sworn, seeing him now, 222 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: that he had actually first laid eyes on Enselmo way 223 00:14:58,240 --> 00:14:59,960 Speaker 1: out in the crowd the night before from where we 224 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,240 Speaker 1: stood on stage, and that he too was feeling a 225 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: strong connection, a connection that went beyond wanting just sex. 226 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,760 Speaker 1: This was fate, This was destiny, at least in the 227 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:18,480 Speaker 1: eyes of George Michael and Enselmo Philippe. The next stretch 228 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: of time was more blissful than not, or at least 229 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:23,560 Speaker 1: as blissful as it could be for a man who 230 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: continued to live his life very much in secret. George 231 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 1: flew Incelmo back to Los Angeles with him, where they 232 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 1: began living together in a lavish new home that Georgia 233 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: built in Beverly Hills. The house was filled with orchids 234 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:40,600 Speaker 1: and also with love. Yet although George introduced Encelmo to 235 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 1: his inner circle as his partner, their love was forbidden 236 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: in public for fear that any public display would lead 237 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: to George being outed, and if that happened, his career 238 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,240 Speaker 1: and everything that came with it, this house with giant 239 00:15:53,240 --> 00:15:58,160 Speaker 1: glass walls, for instance, would be taken away. In the end, however, 240 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: it was romantic bliss was taken away when Inselmo was 241 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:07,520 Speaker 1: diagnosed with AIDS. George continued to keep his sexuality in 242 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: his private life a secret, and when he sang Queen 243 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,760 Speaker 1: Somebody to Love at a tribute concert for Freddie Mercury, 244 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 1: who recently died from the same disease, he secretly dedicated 245 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: it to Enselmo. But no one could know this, just 246 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 1: like no one could know that the power of his 247 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 1: absolutely electrifying performance that night was in large part due 248 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: to how he was mapping his own profound pain onto 249 00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 1: the song's painful lyric. No one could know any of it, 250 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: which is why George wouldn't visit Enselmo in the hospital 251 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 1: when he got really sick, and also why he didn't 252 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:41,440 Speaker 1: fly down to Rio for the funeral. When Enselmo passed 253 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: away in nineteen ninety three at the age of thirty six, 254 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:49,360 Speaker 1: George Michael fell into a deep depression. He was angry, 255 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: angry at the press as they continued to pry. He 256 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: was angry at his record label too. He believed Sony 257 00:16:55,880 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: had failed to properly promote Listen without prejudice and now 258 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 1: had to shackledhim what he called professional slavery. He sued 259 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,040 Speaker 1: and was told by a judge months later that his 260 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:09,640 Speaker 1: argument had no substance whatsoever. When his mother passed away, 261 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:15,160 Speaker 1: his depression intensified. He was taking prozac daily in smoking 262 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:18,399 Speaker 1: marijuana at every waking moment. Even though he was making 263 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:21,879 Speaker 1: new music, like his third studio album, Older, released in 264 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six, he wasn't touring. The press was buzzards 265 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,840 Speaker 1: were unrelenting. They called him the Howard Hughes of pop music. 266 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: But George Michael was no germaphobe recluse. He made sure 267 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: he got out of the house regularly. He always went alone, 268 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: leaving his new boyfriend Kenny Goss behind. They said long 269 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,840 Speaker 1: walks were therapeutic, and George supposed they were, but more 270 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:50,280 Speaker 1: therapeutic for him at this moment, more than the walk, 271 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:56,119 Speaker 1: the weed, the prozac was the destination will Rogers Memorial Park, 272 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:00,359 Speaker 1: about a mile from his house in Beverly Hills. He 273 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,800 Speaker 1: tried to blend in among the palm trees, his sunglasses 274 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 1: and ball cap obscuring his face and thus his celebrity. 275 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:11,239 Speaker 1: He was just one of the guys, searching like they 276 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:16,199 Speaker 1: all were, for that furtive glance, that knowing look. He 277 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: found one, just like he always did. Hanging around the 278 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:25,119 Speaker 1: yellow stucco public toilet. Six foot something, bright white teeth, 279 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:28,920 Speaker 1: t shirt and jeans. The two walked into the restroom 280 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:33,440 Speaker 1: together as strangers, but within minutes George Michael would find 281 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: out that the man he thought was an anonymous tryst 282 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:41,200 Speaker 1: was in fact an undercover officer the Beverly Hills Police Department. 283 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: We'll be right back after this. We're we're we're. 284 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:04,240 Speaker 4: On April seventh, nineteen ninety eight, at approximately sixteen forty 285 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:08,720 Speaker 4: eight hours, that's four forty eight pm, Beverly Hills police 286 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:13,959 Speaker 4: officers arrested the singer known as George Michaels. Mister Michaels 287 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,639 Speaker 4: was arrested for a violation of six point forty seven 288 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,440 Speaker 4: A of the Penal Code engaging in an elude act. 289 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:24,800 Speaker 4: The arrest was made by members of the Crime Suppression 290 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:30,160 Speaker 4: Unit at Will Rogers Park, located at Cannon and Lomitas 291 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:31,439 Speaker 4: in Beverly Hills. 292 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 1: The undercover cop who slipped into the Will Rogers Memorial 293 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:40,880 Speaker 1: Park restroom with George Michael on April seventh, nineteen ninety eight, 294 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: claim that George went in first. George insisted it was 295 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:48,640 Speaker 1: the other way around. George also insisted that he unzipped 296 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,720 Speaker 1: his pants and began masterbating only after the other guy 297 00:19:51,800 --> 00:19:55,440 Speaker 1: did this undercover cop dude, and that claimed contradicted the 298 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: police report that followed, which stated that the cop was 299 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: not masterbating, but rather simulating urination, and that was rich. 300 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,400 Speaker 1: George thought, if he tried taking a leak while doing 301 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,200 Speaker 1: all the things that the guy was doing to himself 302 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 1: in there, you'd get piss all over your hands. In 303 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:14,200 Speaker 1: George's eyes, this was entrapman, plain and simple. But whether 304 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: or not George's version of what went down was true, 305 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 1: it didn't matter. He knew that he'd never won a 306 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:20,880 Speaker 1: game off, he said. He said against the Beverly Hills 307 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:24,920 Speaker 1: Police Department, not in this particular task force, a crime 308 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,919 Speaker 1: suppression unit would do whatever it took to make arrests 309 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,680 Speaker 1: and thus justify their existence. After receiving numerous complaints about 310 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:37,199 Speaker 1: sexual activity in public toilets, George pled no contest. He 311 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:39,720 Speaker 1: was fined nine hundred and ten dollars in sentenced to 312 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 1: therapy community service in two years probation. He was also 313 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:48,160 Speaker 1: forbidden from going back to will Rogers Park. That part 314 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:51,760 Speaker 1: he could handle, and there were other parks, other public toilets, 315 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:55,760 Speaker 1: many more fish in that proverbial sea of cruising subculture. 316 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,639 Speaker 1: But his reckless behavior, his complete disregard for the control 317 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:01,720 Speaker 1: he said so carefully wielded when it came to his 318 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,159 Speaker 1: private life, had very nakedly revealed his secret to the 319 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:08,639 Speaker 1: entire world, and now the press was having a field 320 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: day with that secret. Zip me up before you go 321 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 1: go down, and outed in Beverly Hills. These were actual 322 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:21,640 Speaker 1: headlines from actual publications at the time. But as crushing 323 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:23,960 Speaker 1: as I'm sure it was for George Michael to read 324 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: all these things and to suddenly find himself the butt 325 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:29,200 Speaker 1: of every joke from every late night talk show host, 326 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,800 Speaker 1: and as stupid. That's his word, by the way, as 327 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 1: he felt over allowing himself to be well exposed in 328 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:39,480 Speaker 1: this particular way. The arrest and his subsequent outing had 329 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:44,200 Speaker 1: an unexpected result too. In many ways, it finally gave 330 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: George the thing he'd soun so earnestly about years earlier. Freedom. 331 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,360 Speaker 1: I'm a dirty, filthy fucker, and if you can't deal 332 00:21:55,400 --> 00:21:59,359 Speaker 1: with it, you can't deal with it. George Michael was 333 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:01,680 Speaker 1: taking the opposite approach that he once had when he 334 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,920 Speaker 1: came to journalists. Now he welcomed them into his house 335 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,359 Speaker 1: and told them everything. What do you want to know? 336 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 1: His boyfriend, Kenny Goss open relationship tricks, rent boys, escorts, 337 00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,199 Speaker 1: whatever you want to call them. Of course he's got 338 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,879 Speaker 1: a little black book and the wallet to match, because 339 00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:20,840 Speaker 1: sex ain't cheap. But you're not paying for the sex. 340 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 1: Of course, that's not what the money's for. The money 341 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 1: is to pay the trick to leave once the sex 342 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,400 Speaker 1: is over, just like George was ready for this journalist 343 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: to leave right now. The guy had gotten a good 344 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 1: look at the bag of weed and pills on his 345 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,560 Speaker 1: coffee table of the Harman Miller painting on his wall 346 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:42,480 Speaker 1: titled Incurable romantic seeks, dirty filthy horror. Now George's cell 347 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:46,399 Speaker 1: phone was blowing up. It was Paul. Paul made adult 348 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:49,439 Speaker 1: films and did dirty d's not so dirt cheap but 349 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,920 Speaker 1: best of all, right, now Paul had the champagne if 350 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,320 Speaker 1: George was willing and able, Champagne being the two's code 351 00:22:56,359 --> 00:23:02,600 Speaker 1: word for GHB aka liquid X to see, an extremely 352 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,320 Speaker 1: potent drug capable of sending one into a heightened state 353 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:09,439 Speaker 1: of sexually charged euphoria. Shit, Yeah, George was willing and 354 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: George was able. Let's fuck the journalist hit the bricks, 355 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:17,040 Speaker 1: and there was Paul, right on schedule, a travel sized 356 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:20,359 Speaker 1: shampoo bottle in his hand. George squeezed a few drops 357 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:22,919 Speaker 1: of GHB from the bottle into a glass of Coca 358 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,639 Speaker 1: Cola and drank it down. And the drug sent this 359 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 1: libido into hyperdrive. Even better, it made him feel beautiful. 360 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,719 Speaker 1: On GHB, he didn't have to think about young George Michael, 361 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: the overweight, pimply reject or so he'd always seen himself. 362 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:39,879 Speaker 1: He also did not have to think about Enselmo and 363 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: the others he'd lost through that straight French playboy, and 364 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,639 Speaker 1: the others he never had in the first place. The 365 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:49,400 Speaker 1: drug made the music vibrate through his body. Each key 366 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: he touched on the cigarette stained piano, the one previously 367 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:55,879 Speaker 1: owned by John London, which George had wanted auction for 368 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:59,879 Speaker 1: something like one point five million pounds each he resonated 369 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:04,120 Speaker 1: inside of his fingertips, and then his palms, his arms, 370 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:09,520 Speaker 1: his shoulders, his entire body. GHB supercharged his self esteem 371 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: each time he left one of his many homes, like 372 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,680 Speaker 1: the one just north of London in Highgate. From there 373 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,680 Speaker 1: he took a path not unlike the one back in 374 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:20,280 Speaker 1: Beverly Hills, down a curving hill and into Hampstead Heath, 375 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,560 Speaker 1: a big park full of bushes and trees, where men 376 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,760 Speaker 1: just like him were looking for sex. The thrill of 377 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:30,639 Speaker 1: being caught, the guilt who was all still there. But 378 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,880 Speaker 1: seeing as he'd been arrested once already, he was now 379 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,919 Speaker 1: far more cavalier than ever before. But the thing is 380 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 1: GHB is incredibly addictive, and when you overuse or abuse 381 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,600 Speaker 1: the drug, it could lead to what's known as a 382 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:49,680 Speaker 1: g hole, which is when someone high on GHB just 383 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:53,120 Speaker 1: slumps over and checks out even when they're standing up. 384 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:57,359 Speaker 1: And for you, George Michael, you're about to fall into 385 00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:00,000 Speaker 1: a g holder won't let you go for the next 386 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:08,640 Speaker 1: four years. February two thousand and six, you do some GHB, 387 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:12,399 Speaker 1: some marijuana and then you hit a London club. You 388 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,359 Speaker 1: leave at one am. Thirty minutes later, you're found in 389 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 1: your Mercedes stalled out, knocked out, asleep at the wheel. 390 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,040 Speaker 1: The drugs are found on your person, as is allegedly 391 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:25,960 Speaker 1: a studded black leather fetish mask with a zipper on 392 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:29,400 Speaker 1: the mouth. So what you think, live and let live. 393 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:32,960 Speaker 1: The cops let you off with a warning. Two months later, 394 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:37,919 Speaker 1: it's April. More GHB, more weed. This time you're driving 395 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:39,880 Speaker 1: the Range Rover, trying to get back to your house 396 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:43,560 Speaker 1: in Highgate and suddenly there's this fucking Ford Fiesta just 397 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,719 Speaker 1: park there. Fuck you put it in reverse and then 398 00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: in drive and then shit, where did that little Pugio 399 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:54,480 Speaker 1: come from? Somehow you find your way home and the 400 00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: next morning the cops are at your door asking about 401 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 1: the fucked up front end of your Rover parked in 402 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:04,080 Speaker 1: the driveway. Five months later, it's September. Your tour starts, 403 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,960 Speaker 1: your first tour in fifteen years. You're calling it twenty 404 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,680 Speaker 1: five Live to celebrate your quarter century. Is one of 405 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:13,480 Speaker 1: the greatest to ever do it. The tour will stretch 406 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:15,560 Speaker 1: out for the next two years, and we'll see you 407 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,880 Speaker 1: perform one hundred and six shows in forty one countries 408 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,959 Speaker 1: in gross over two hundred million dollars. Every stage you 409 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,160 Speaker 1: step on, you kill it. You're a professional, which means 410 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: you can compartmentalize. It also means that you work hard 411 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:32,399 Speaker 1: and you play hard too. On a day off, you 412 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:37,359 Speaker 1: tee up GHB, sleeping meds, antidepressant, chase it all with 413 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,399 Speaker 1: a joint. You can't see straight as your Mercedes tears 414 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:43,600 Speaker 1: ass into the night, weaving from one lane to the next, 415 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:47,159 Speaker 1: destination Hampstead Heath to get your rocks off, but you 416 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 1: don't make it. You pass out, Your Mercedes rolls to 417 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:54,199 Speaker 1: a stop, and once again the cops find you and 418 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 1: your drugs. This time they charge you drug possession and 419 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:03,399 Speaker 1: under the influence. In December, the judge sentences you to 420 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,280 Speaker 1: community service in a small fine, and she takes away 421 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:08,960 Speaker 1: your license for two years. But she doesn't want to 422 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: interrupt your historic tour, the one that has become the 423 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:15,400 Speaker 1: most commercially successful European tour of the year. She knows 424 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:17,680 Speaker 1: that tomorrow you're playing the first of two sold out 425 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:22,119 Speaker 1: shows at Wembley. You show your gratitude, your capacity for change. 426 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,200 Speaker 1: I'm glad to put this behind me, you say. Now 427 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,880 Speaker 1: I'm off to do the biggest show of my life. 428 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,159 Speaker 1: Big shows and big plans aside. You don't put it 429 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:35,280 Speaker 1: behind you. It's still there, the addiction and the kink. 430 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:37,760 Speaker 1: You're no longer allowed to be in the front seat 431 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:41,159 Speaker 1: of your Mercedes or your range Rover, but guilt continues 432 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:45,159 Speaker 1: to drive your underlying compulsion. In September of two thousand 433 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:47,919 Speaker 1: and eight, police finds you slinking around the public toilet 434 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:51,600 Speaker 1: at Hampstead Heath. You look fucked up and suspicious, and well, 435 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,679 Speaker 1: you are fucked up in suspicious, and your well documented 436 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:59,680 Speaker 1: reputation precedes you. They search you and find crack cocaine 437 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: that you swear to God. They were tipped off, probably 438 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,600 Speaker 1: by someone who wants you to go to rehabit Jesus 439 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:10,080 Speaker 1: Elton john S might his own fucking business. You aren't 440 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,359 Speaker 1: in the market for salvation or for Elton John's pity. 441 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:17,000 Speaker 1: It's all self loathing and bad habits. Soon you can 442 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:19,600 Speaker 1: legally drive your car again, and much to no one surprise, 443 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:23,560 Speaker 1: once again, you crash it. Though this time not into 444 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:26,719 Speaker 1: a bunch of park cars. This time you put your 445 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 1: rover through the facade of a one hour photoshop in 446 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:32,320 Speaker 1: North London. The engine is still running when you're woken 447 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 1: up by a police officer banging on the driver's side window, 448 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,800 Speaker 1: and a few days later someone writes wham on the 449 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:41,200 Speaker 1: part of the storefront where you crash your car. But 450 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 1: you're not laughing, because now on this you're seventh the 451 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: rest in twelve years, yes years, even though it's all 452 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: been a blur and felt like mere months. Now a 453 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 1: judge is describing a new kind of penalty, not just 454 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:01,400 Speaker 1: another fine and another loss of your license. There's something else. 455 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 1: You're going to prison. By twenty ten, MTV was a 456 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:32,200 Speaker 1: shell of its former self. Gone were the days of 457 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,240 Speaker 1: NonStop music video programming of Prince and Madonna and Michael 458 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: Jackson every hour on the hour, and of MTV News 459 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: anchored for years by Kurt Loder, So there was no 460 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:44,920 Speaker 1: news coverage to be found on MTV. On September fourteenth 461 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 1: of that year, when forty seven year old George Michael 462 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,560 Speaker 1: Grammy winner best Selling Artist of nineteen eighty eight, biggest 463 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: grossing European tour headliner of two thousand and six and 464 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:58,240 Speaker 1: two thousand and seven, owner of multiple luxury homes throughout 465 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,480 Speaker 1: the world and one of the horniest MTV the artists 466 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: to ever live. Was strip searched, given a nondescript inmate 467 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:06,960 Speaker 1: uniform and led down the dank and disgusting hallways of 468 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:13,280 Speaker 1: HM prison Pentonville, located in North London. Pentonville was no joke. 469 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: The men's prison was infamous that housed rapists, murderers and pedophiles. 470 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,320 Speaker 1: It was crawling with roaches and rodents. George was led 471 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,680 Speaker 1: by guards to the Vulnerable Prisoners unit, which was for 472 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:31,400 Speaker 1: quote sex offenders and people who have committed serious crimes unquote. 473 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:34,720 Speaker 1: His arrival was anticipated, just as it had been years 474 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 1: ago in places like Wembley and Rio, only now his 475 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:40,720 Speaker 1: audience was out not for his voice, his music, or 476 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:44,600 Speaker 1: his sex, but out for his blood. The voices of 477 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:49,560 Speaker 1: incarcerated men, violent men meant at their absolute lowest, echoed 478 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:53,560 Speaker 1: through the prison halls. Where's George Michael? Bring us? George Michael. 479 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:57,080 Speaker 1: George was terrified as he was led inside his cell. 480 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:01,160 Speaker 1: He kept his head down and kept to himself. Normally, 481 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:03,760 Speaker 1: the company of strange man loitering around toilets would have 482 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:08,400 Speaker 1: turned him on, but this, this was different. The very 483 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:10,400 Speaker 1: thought of going to prison had been enough to scare 484 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:15,080 Speaker 1: him sober he actually detoxed while awaiting sentencing, but now 485 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,360 Speaker 1: that he was on the inside, it was even worse 486 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: than he could have ever imagined. Luckily, only the first 487 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:23,160 Speaker 1: three nights of his two week prison sentence would be 488 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:26,400 Speaker 1: here at Pettonville. The rest would be served two hours 489 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:30,200 Speaker 1: away in Suffolk at High Point Prison, where George slept 490 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:33,880 Speaker 1: in the Good Behavior Wing. Playpool received get well letters 491 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 1: from Elton John and Paul McCartney, and on the day 492 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:40,360 Speaker 1: he left, signed autographs for every staff member and prisoner. 493 00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:46,880 Speaker 1: A free and for now clean George Michael got to 494 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:50,920 Speaker 1: work on what was next, which was Symphonica, a live 495 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:54,080 Speaker 1: album documenting an orchestral tour of originals and covers he'd 496 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:58,280 Speaker 1: made in twenty eleven. In twenty twelve, sober George was 497 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,280 Speaker 1: all nice suits and buttoned on shirts. Is once trademark 498 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:04,480 Speaker 1: good hair have been buzzed down tight with a salt 499 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,840 Speaker 1: and pepper goatee to match. Even before we hit fifty 500 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:11,280 Speaker 1: years old, he was playing the elder statesman type, but 501 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,320 Speaker 1: a new lease on life, a new swell of creativity, 502 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:19,360 Speaker 1: a prison stint, detox therapy, a handwritten letter from a beadle. 503 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,240 Speaker 1: These are things that happen in hopes that they take 504 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:27,800 Speaker 1: hold and inspire not just change, but sustained change. And 505 00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 1: that doesn't always happen, because sometimes there's something that takes 506 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:35,200 Speaker 1: hold even stronger, whether it's a cank or a compulsion 507 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 1: or an addiction, one driven by habit or by some 508 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:42,920 Speaker 1: deep seated psychological trauma. And look, I'm clearly not Sigmund 509 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:46,280 Speaker 1: Freud here, and I'm not cank er compulsion shaming either. 510 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:50,160 Speaker 1: We all have something, some more destructive than others, of course, 511 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:52,920 Speaker 1: and obviously George Michael had the kind of demons that 512 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:55,520 Speaker 1: you couldn't cast out by two weeks in a jail cell. 513 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:59,000 Speaker 1: A sex icon for the Ages, an icon for the 514 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,959 Speaker 1: gay community. At life, arch a man who owned numerous 515 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:04,160 Speaker 1: pieces of luxury property and lived the sort of life 516 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,560 Speaker 1: that most of us will only dream of. With all that, 517 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:09,520 Speaker 1: he was never able to feel as sexy as he 518 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:13,440 Speaker 1: was seen by others, And so he was back to 519 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:17,000 Speaker 1: texting his friend Paul, back to asking for delivery of 520 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:23,800 Speaker 1: Champagne aka GHB, Back to a manufactured sense of sexiness 521 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:28,560 Speaker 1: back in that g hole, unconscious, this time not behind 522 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: the wheel, but in his bathtub, where an overdose sent 523 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:37,600 Speaker 1: him straight to the emergency room. Two years later, George 524 00:33:37,600 --> 00:33:42,479 Speaker 1: Michael was dead at fifty three years old, discovered by 525 00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:46,720 Speaker 1: his latest boyfriend on Christmas Day. The official conclusion was 526 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 1: natural causes stemming from a heart disease that makes it 527 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:53,400 Speaker 1: difficult for your body to pump blood. But considering that 528 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:56,840 Speaker 1: his family chose to withhold the toxicology report, and also 529 00:33:56,920 --> 00:33:59,480 Speaker 1: considering that he died completely alone at some point on 530 00:33:59,560 --> 00:34:03,680 Speaker 1: Christmas or early Christmas morning, it's entirely possible that it 531 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 1: was a less medical and more emotional affliction of the 532 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:10,520 Speaker 1: heart that did in George Michael, once one of the 533 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:14,760 Speaker 1: biggest stars on the planet. And that is that disgrace. 534 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:34,399 Speaker 1: I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgraceland, all right, thanks 535 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:36,800 Speaker 1: for getting Kicky with me in this episode. This week's 536 00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:39,000 Speaker 1: question of the week is how many times have you 537 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:42,000 Speaker 1: had sex in a public toilet? No, that's obviously not. 538 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,280 Speaker 1: The question of the week's question is which nineteen eighties 539 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:48,880 Speaker 1: MTV era artist is your favorite? Is it mister George 540 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:51,759 Speaker 1: Michael or is it someone else who best defines the 541 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 1: era for you? And why I want to know? Hit 542 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:56,480 Speaker 1: me up at six one seven nine oh six sixty 543 00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:58,640 Speaker 1: sixty three eight, leave me a voicemail, sent me a text. 544 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:01,120 Speaker 1: Hear your answer on the after already bonus episode coming 545 00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:03,080 Speaker 1: up right after this one, and you can also send 546 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:07,239 Speaker 1: your answers to me at disgracelampod, on Instagram, X and Facebook. 547 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:09,800 Speaker 1: Leave a review for the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 548 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,320 Speaker 1: Win some free merch are here comes some credits. 549 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:17,560 Speaker 5: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 550 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:21,040 Speaker 5: partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be 551 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:24,680 Speaker 5: found on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. 552 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:27,839 Speaker 5: If you're listening as a disgracelan All Access member, thank 553 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:28,919 Speaker 5: you for supporting the show. 554 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,720 Speaker 1: We really appreciate it, and if not, you can become 555 00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:35,120 Speaker 1: a member right now by going to disgracelampod dot com 556 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:39,400 Speaker 1: slash Membership members can listen to every episode of disgracelan 557 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:43,520 Speaker 1: ad free, Plus you'll get one brand new exclusive episode 558 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:47,799 Speaker 1: every month, weekly unscripted bonus episodes, special audio collections, in 559 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:52,680 Speaker 1: early access to merchandise, and events. Visit disgracelampod dot com 560 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:55,880 Speaker 1: slash membership for details, rate and review the show, and 561 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,880 Speaker 1: follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook at disgracelampod 562 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:03,320 Speaker 1: and on YouTube at YouTube dot com slash at disgrace 563 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:11,359 Speaker 1: Lampod rock a Rolla, He's a baddad man.