New York Post, July 2, 2002
1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10036
(Fax: 212-930-8546 ) (E-Mail: letters@... )
( http://www.nypost.com )
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/51626.htm
Pop Perv's 9/11 Slur
By Bill Hoffmann
Washed-up pervert pop star George Michael is trying to
relaunch his career with a controversial song and video insinuating
that President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are gay
lovers.
In the tawdry tune, Michael also blasts America's handling of
the Sept. 11 terror attacks – calling President Bush a "trigger-
happy" politician who is "bullying" the world.
But while he has a beef with the United States, Michael
apparently has no problem with American money.
Record-industry analysts say the goateed entertainer has raked
in as much as $70 million in the United States alone over the years
with hits like "I Want Your Sex" and "Faith."
The insulting new song hints that Bush and Blair – close
allies in the war against terror – are actually having sex. The pop
star even hints that Blair's wife Cherie should sleep with him
instead.
"Tony, Tony, Tony, I know that you're horny, but there's
somethin' 'bout Bush that ain't right," Michael sings in "Shoot the
Dog."
In the new video, Michael – who was busted in 1998 in a
Beverly Hills men's room for performing lewd sex acts in front of a
cop – depicts a cartoon Bush tickling Blair's tummy like a dog on the
grounds of the White House.
He ridicules the United States for defending itself against
Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network.
"It's like we're getting fresh out of democratic. Gotta get
yourself a little something semiautomatic, yeah," Michael taunts.
"I get a feelin' when it all goes off, they're gonna shoot the
dog, shoot the dog."
The scorching song could end Michael's career in the United
States - and it's doubtful "Shoot the Dog" will get much play on
radio or TV.
"I got no interest in playing a George Michael song – and
especially a song like that," Scott Shannon at WPLJ told The Post.
In the video, Michael, clearly angry at Blair's alliance with
Bush against terrorism, taunts British first lady Cherie Blair.
"Cherie, my dear, could you leave the way clear for sex
tonight?" he asks, while wearing a leopard-print thong.
In an interview with London's Daily Mirror, Michael, 39,
defended his cheap broadsides at Bush.
He says when "the bombers went into Afghanistan and started
blitzing everything . . . I just watched in horror."