What do you think of when you hear “George Michael“? Tight jeans and a goatee? Though George Michael may have peaked in the 1980s, his legacy remains relevant even today. Michael has lived much of his life in the public eye; however, there are still some things that many people do not know about him. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Lionel Richie. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: He Has Two Grammy Awards. Michael has received two Grammy Awards over the years. He earned his first one in 1987 for Best R&B Performance, and he got his second one in 1988 for Album of the Year (for Faith).
Number Fourteen: He Has Been Arrested Five Times. Michael has been arrested five times! He was arrested four times for possession of marijuana, and one last time he was arrested for public indecency.
Number Thirteen: He Was Sued Over a Music Video. Policeman Marcelo Rodriguez attempted to sue Michael for $10 million after Michael released his music video for “Outside.” The video was released in 1999, and Rodriguez was suing because he felt he was being portrayed in an unfavorable light. However, he was not successfully able to sue Michael.
Number Twelve: He Claimed to Smoke 25 Spliffs a Day. In a 2009 interview with The Guardian, Michael claimed that he smoked 25 marijuana cigarettes, or spliffs, in a single day. That’s a lot of weed.
Number Eleven: He Won 32,000 Pounds on a Game Show. Michael was on the show Who Wants to Be A Millionaire in 2003, and he was playing with partner Ronan Keating. Together, the duo won 32,000 pounds and donated all of it to charity.
Number Ten: He Served Community Service. Michael was forced to serve 80 hours of community service after being charged with a public sex act in 1998. And that’s not the only community service he did! He had to perform 100 more hours in 2007 for driving under the influence.
Number Nine: He Was Paid to Play for Vladimir Putin. You might know that Putin has some ridiculous antics up his sleeve, but have you heard about this? Putin allegedly paid 1.6 million pounds to have Michael play for him and 300 of his guests on New Year’s Eve of 2006.