Reclusive pop superstar George Michael regrets the world found out about his sexuality by way of a scandal.

The FAITH singer sits down for a rare chat with American talk show queen Oprah Winfrey later today (26MAY04) and admits if he could relive his life, he'd just come clean with a journalist.

Instead, Michael was arrested for performing "a lewd act" in a park toilet in Los Angeles in 1998, and it sent him into a deep depression.

He says, "I just plummeted into deep, deep depression. I mean my God, why didn't I just sit with a journalist and say, 'I am gay.'"

The singer also told Oprah that he's still convinced he was set up before his arrest shame.

He says, "I went into the bathroom when there was no one in it and the policeman came in after me.

"They don't send Columbo in there; they send someone really nice looking."

26/05/2004 02:37