George Michael

George (on his 2008 U.S. tour): I don't want to do anything on this scale again. No more stadiums. I'd like to be the Tony Bennett for my generation. It's the end of a certain era, and I'm not sure how much I really want to be a part of what's next. So, it's a kind of a way of saying thank you to everybody before I move on.

George: I hate not to be able to rise above it, but there is only so much you can take. I'm suing the individual involved who I have never, ever seen, let alone wanted to have any kind of sexual encounter with, and I'm currently investigating suing the secondary sources of libel. I am taking legal action against the photographers because they're harassing me and I should not have to worry about who's watching me at 2:30 in the morning.

George: I have been doing this on and off since I was a teenager and never once seen violence. If I want to see violence or what I call shameful behaviour, the idea that women in clubs these days have to hold their hand over their drink for fear of being drugged ... Please don't tell me as a member of the straight community that I am taking risks. I know what I do and I am sorry, but we should not be taking questions like this, from straight women in particular ... I do not deserve the criticism. What I don't have respect for is some demand for answers from an openly gay man who is living his own life. I have not cheated or lied about my sex life to anybody in my life, in my entire life.