Russell Tovey calls George Michael a ‘hero’ for rejecting shame after 1998 arrest

Russell Tovey has hailed George Michael as a personal hero, praising the late singer for refusing to be shamed following his 1998 arrest in a public toilet in Los Angeles.

Speaking candidly about the impact George had on him as a young gay man, the Looking and Being Human actor said the singer’s response to the scandal was both brave and transformative. Rather than retreating from public life, George chose to confront the incident head-on, openly discussing his sexuality at a time when such honesty still carried significant professional and personal risk.

George was arrested in April 1998 after being caught engaging in a sexual act with an undercover police officer. The incident, which made global headlines, led to intense media scrutiny and tabloid mockery. Within days, George publicly confirmed he was gay, later releasing the defiant single Outside, which directly referenced the arrest and satirised the moral outrage surrounding it.

Russell said that seeing a global superstar refuse to apologise for who he was had a profound effect on him. He described George’s reaction as “fearless”, noting that the singer turned a moment intended to humiliate him into one of empowerment. For many queer people, particularly those coming of age in the late 1990s, it was a rare example of unapologetic visibility from someone at the very top of popular culture.

At a time when public figures were often pressured to deny or minimise their sexuality, George’s decision to be open - and even playful - about the situation challenged prevailing attitudes towards gay men and sex. Russell said this refusal to internalise shame helped change the conversation, showing that dignity could be reclaimed even in the face of public judgement.

George, who died on Christmas Day 2016 aged 53, is remembered not only for his music but also for his quiet philanthropy and his role in advancing LGBTQ+ visibility. For Russell, his legacy is inseparable from that moment in 1998, when the singer chose authenticity over silence.

“He showed you didn’t have to be broken by it,” Russell has said previously of George’s stance. “That mattered more than people realise.”