80s Music Central News

Less than a week to go before Tuesday's release of his double-disc greatest-hits collection, Ladies & Gentleman, The Best of George Michael, and he's already back in the hot seat. According to a spokesperson for the Beverly Hills District Attorney's office, the singer was to have completed 80 hours of community service by Tuesday, as per his sentencing in May over a lewd conduct charge. But because Michael had not completely served out his sentence, his attorney approached Judge Charles Rubin on Thursday to try to extend the deadline until sometime in February. The judge, who had a copy of the video in the courtroom, didn't grant the full request, but did extend the deadline to December 21st. During an interview that preceded the new video premier for “Outside”, Michael told an audience of his fans and spectators that police committed entrapment in arresting him, since they used an undercover officer who fooled him into thinking he was interested in engaging in a sex act with the singer. “I got followed into the restroom. I didn't know it was a cop, obviously. He started playing this game — ‘I’ll show you mine and when you show me yours, I'll nick you,’” Michael claimed during the interview. Police have said that the singer was arrested after committing an unspecified lewd act in a public area. It was the new video that made the boldest statement on his recent troubles with the law. Scenes in the video seem to make light of his arrest and conviction. Partially set in a public restroom that becomes a dance club when urinals disappear and disco balls descend from the light fixtures, the video features Michael dancing in a policeman's uniform while a host of couples kiss in various outdoor locales, including the roof of a building, on board a ship and on a golf course.