George Michael has told Michael Parkinson that he blames Elton John, in part at least, for the media's current obsession with his private life. The singer told Parkinson that comments made by Elton John eighteen months ago, when John said he was wasting his talent and should get out more, had had quite an effect on his life.
Michael: "Unfortunately every artist nowadays has a soap opera and it's decided where they're going to be in that. The trajectory of my particular soap opera launched from that statement Elton made about 18 months ago when he hadn't seen me for years. For some reason, from that point on, I've been trying to prove that I'm not [really miserable]. That unfortunately made me really vulnerable to the press".
Elton John hasn't responded to the interview, though one friend told the Daily Star Sunday that Michael's comments should not be taken to imply that the two pop stars are on bad terms. The friend apparantly said: "As far as Elton's concerned he is George's friend and there are no issues between them. They had dinner together nine months ago and get on fine with each other. There's nothing wrong with their friendship".