Do we like George Michael?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Years of public support for LGBTQ+ people and AIDS charities, plus giving he kept private, against one drug-driving conviction.
George Michael went from teen-pop duo Wham! to one of Britain's biggest solo stars, and by the time he died on Christmas Day 2016 he was remembered as much for his activism as for the hits. Tributes the next day called him a prominent gay rights campaigner who strongly backed LGBT issues.
He came out publicly in 1998, and the same year he fronted a documentary, Staying Alive, following six young people affected by HIV around the world. He was also a passionate supporter of the Terrence Higgins Trust, a British HIV charity. Stonewall thanked him after his death, and Miley Cyrus praised his “radical activism in the LGBTQ community”.
The blot on the record is the driving. In September 2010 he pleaded guilty at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court to driving while unfit through drugs and to possessing cannabis. He got eight weeks, serving four in prison and the rest on licence, plus a five-year ban and a £1,250 fine. It was a dumb, dangerous thing to do, and he paid for it.
On the harm test he comes up clean. Nothing I read has him attacking LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or anyone else, or pushing conspiracy theories. Jacobin, a left-wing magazine, reports he took a public stand against the Iraq war, so where you land on that depends on your view of the war. It's a stand, not harm.
The latest noise is about his legacy rather than him. MTV announced a VMAs tribute with RAYE, Sombr and Teddy Swims, timed with the 10th anniversary of his death and a Faith Tour cinema release. Fans have complained that none of the three is openly LGBTQ and floated artists like Sam Smith and Troye Sivan instead. That's a gripe about MTV's casting, not about George.
The good stuff is the real stuff. Project Angel Food's executive director told the Mirror that Michael gave the Los Angeles HIV/AIDS charity $25,000 a year until his death, and he asked for it to stay private. He also auctioned a Mercedes and gave the proceeds to the charity, and the charity's 2017 gala in his memory honoured him with its Elizabeth Taylor Humanitarian Award.