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The epitome of 1980s male sex symbolism, George Michael came of age with the single ‘Faith’ as a solo artist. (Image http://www.georgemichael.com)

Remembering George Michael⎯ 

George Michael, whose death on Christmas Day shocked his legions of fans, is being remembered for his LGBTI+ advocacy and charitable donations as well as his popular music.

The one-half of Wham!, whose ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’ became one of the defining songs of the 1980s, pursued a successful solo career in 1987. Michael enjoyed a resurgence in 1998 when he was arrested for ‘engaging in a lewd act’ in a public restroom at the Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, allowing him to speak openly of his sexuality. He used the event as the subject of the song ‘Outside’, as evident in the single’s humorous music video clip.

Manager, Michael Lippman, has sighted the iconic artist’s cause of death was due to ‘heart failure’ and that Michael had died ‘peacefully at home’ in England.

Tributes continue to flow for the singer-songwriter and LGBTI+ activist. Mariah Carey called him a ‘genius’ and a well-meaning Sarah Michelle Gellar took to Twitter, accidentally praising a different (and very alive) British singer:

(Source: https://twitter.com/SarahMGellar)

Gellar went on to clarify:

(Source: https://twitter.com/SarahMGellar)

Carrie Fisher Health Update⎯

Carrie Fisher as one of pop culture’s most famous women, General Leia Organa (formally, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan). (Image: Lucasfilm Ltd. / 20th Century Fox)

Actor, author, and mental health advocate, Carrie Fisher is now in a ‘stable condition’ after going into cardiac arrest during an eleven-hour flight from London to Los Angeles.

Her mother, Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated entertainer Debbie Reynolds, has thanked fans for their well-wishes and has said that the family would keep the concerned public updated of any further developments.

Fisher, who is one of pop culture’s most recognisable women for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, has been in hospital since Friday.

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