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George Michael to sue fellow cruiser, photographer

George Michael to sue fellow cruiser, photographer
by Rex Wockner - SGN Contributing Writer Gay pop singer George Michael has told the BBC he will sue the man with whom the News of the World tabloid said he had a late-night tryst in a cruisy area of London's Hampstead Heath. "I'm suing the individual involved who I have never, ever seen, let alone wanted to have any kind of sexual encounter with," Michael said. The star said he also will sue the photographer who photographed him at the scene. "They're harassing me and I should not have to worry about who's watching me at 2:30 in the morning," he said. "A very large part of the male population, Gay or straight, totally understands the idea of anonymous and no-strings sex," Michael added. "The fact that I choose to do that on a warm night in the best cruising ground in London - which happens to be about half a mile from my home - I don't think would be that shocking to that many Gay people." The July 22 News of the World report alleged: "Mega-rich pop superstar George Michael this week sank to new levels of depravity - trawling for illegal Gay sex thrills in a London park. News of the World investigators caught the singer red-handed and red-faced as he emerged from the bushes after cavorting with a pot-bellied, 58-year-old, jobless van driver. When challenged George, 43, was wild-eyed and trembling. Trying to hide his face under a baseball cap, he screamed: 'I don't believe it! Fuck off! If you put those pictures in the paper I'll sue! ... Are you Gay? No? Then fuck off! This is my culture!'" The report included several unflattering photos of Michael at the scene. The paper claimed: "The pair kissed and groped each other before going even further. It was all in a public place and totally illegal." The reporters said they followed Michael's alleged sex partner, Norman Kirtland, 60 miles home to his "squalid flat" and interviewed him. The newspaper said Kirtland said: "He told me I could contact him on the Gaydar website and we just started kissing. ... Then it was fondling and mutual pleasuring. It wasn't full sex but it was fantastic. ... I admit I was there for sex. But I'm astonished a man as famous as George should even think about doing it." Michael said he has no plans to sue the newspaper itself.