George Michael’s life was constantly trailed by homophobic media that painted him as a sexual deviant and a drug addicted train wreck “corrupted” by the gay lifestyle. In reality, George Michael was an artist who, for a large portion of his life, was forced to hide his sexuality and live a lie in a pre-millennium society that emotionally punished anybody whose orientation challenged heteronormative expectations. Let us not forget the paths paved by people like George Michael: those who bravely came out during a time when closet doors were locked from the outside.