George Michael’s sister has hit back at Sir Elton John over his claims that the late star was uncomfortable with his sexuality.
Elton said during a recent interview that the former Wham! frontman “was so uncomfortable in his skin about being gay even though he said he wasn’t”.
He also told US show The Talk that George “didn’t want to be here”, and claimed he had tried to help him overcome his addictions.
However, George’s sister Melanie Panayiotou has addressed Elton’s comments, telling The Big Issue that her brother was “my ‘very proud to be gay’ brother, contrary to what you may have read recently”.
George and Elton had a tumultuous relationship prior to the star’s death at the age of 53 on Christmas Day 2016.
The pair had been close friends, also collaborating on re-recording of Elton’s hit Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me in 1991.
However, they had a well documented falling-out during the 00s when Elton attempted to intervene and help George with his drug addiction.
It resulted in George publicly criticising Elton, who had a well documented battle with drugs himself.
The pair eventually settled their differences, and following George’s death, Elton said he had “lost a beloved friend, the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist”.
George had fought drug addiction for years before his death from heart disease and a build-up of fat in his liver, which can be linked to drug and alcohol abuse.
The singer came out as gay following his arrest in 1998 for engaging in “a lewd act” in front of an undercover police officer in Beverly Hills.
Some of his most famous solo work referenced his sexuality and he later said in an interview: “I never had a moral problem with being gay.
“I thought I had fallen in love with a woman a couple of times. Then I fell in love with a man, and realised that none of those things had been love.”