George Michael’s sister has hit back at Sir Elton John’s claims that the late singer was uncomfortable with his sexuality.
Sir Elton, 72, recently said the Wham! star “was so uncomfortable in his skin about being gay even though he said he wasn’t”.
The Rocket Man singer also told a US talk show that Michael, who died on Christmas Day 2016 aged 53, “didn’t want to be here”, as he claimed he had tried to help him overcome his addictions.
But Melanie Panayiotou insists in The Big Issue that the Careless Whisper singer was “my ‘very proud to be gay’ brother, contrary to what you may have read recently”.
Sir Elton and Michael both sang on the hit Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.
Michael suffered health scares and fought drug addiction for years before his death from heart disease and a build-up of fat in his liver, which can be linked to drug and alcohol abuse.
He came out as gay following his arrest in 1998 for engaging in “a lewd act” in front of an undercover police officer in Beverly Hills.
Some of his most famous solo work referenced his sexuality and he later said in an interview: “I never had a moral problem with being gay.
“I thought I had fallen in love with a woman a couple of times. Then I fell in love with a man, and realised that none of those things had been love.”
Following his death, Michael was praised for his work as a prominent gay rights campaigner.
- The Big Issue is available for £2.50
