It appears that while many facets of George Michael’s life were sensationalised and made public, he was very privately doing good deeds.
As the world mourns the 53-year-old’s death, which was reported on Christmas, people are sharing stories of the pop star’s acts of kindness.
For struggling individuals
A good deed reported by Richard Osman, a UK television presenter and producer, is being widely shared.
A woman on ‘Deal Or No Deal’ told us she needed £15k for IVF treatment. George Michael secretly phoned the next day and gave her the £15k.— Richard Osman (@richardosman) 26 December 2016
Mashable has reached out to the show’s production company, Endemol, to ask for confirmation. But there is a BBC story from 2008 about a couple who received £9,000 ($11,057) from a mystery benefactor after one half of the couple, Steve Davies, appeared on the show to try and win money.
Another story says the same benefactor also donated £91,000 to a charity that helps AIDS orphans in Kenya.
One of the replies on the thread, from someone who claims to be a trivia buff, claims that George Michael anonymously helped a stranger with debt.
Sali Hughes, a beauty writer for the Guardian, shared her experience of Michael’s generosity.
I wrote in a piece ages ago about a celeb I’d worked with tipping a barmaid £5k because she was a student nurse in debt. Was George Michael.— Sali Hughes (@salihughes) 26 December 2016
For nurses
George Michael took the time to show NHS nurses how much he appreciated their help after their care for his mother Lesley, who died of cancer in 1997.
His support for the LGBTQ community, the NHS and the miners marked George Michael out as an activist as well as a great artist. pic.twitter.com/tsKNp22Lr7— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) 26 December 2016
A nurse at that gig, Sally Lyons, said, “A nervous George Michael took to the stage with a bad cold and told us he’d played in front of crowds all over the world but was anxious because he’d never performed in front of so many heroes before.”
More people spoke about his gigs and generosity toward nurses.
George Michael used to give a bunch of free tickets to his shows to NHS nurses. He allocated a whole area of Wembley to nurses. DEMOGRAPHIC.— Hayley Campbell (@hayleycampbell) 26 December 2016
For the homeless
Activist and actor Emilyne Mondo described how Michael would help out in a homeless shelter without calling a bit of attention to himself or the charitable endeavors.
George Michael worked anonymously at a homeless shelter I was volunteering at. I’ve never told anyone, he asked we didn’t. That’s who he was— EMILYNE MONDO (@EmilyneMondo) 26 December 2016
For children
The founder of Childline, a charity that enables children to anonymously phone counsellors for help, revealed that George Michael had donated millions over the years.
“For years now he has been the most extraordinarily generous philanthropist, giving money to Childline. But he was determined not to make his generosity public, so no-one outside the charity knew how much he gave to the nation’s most vulnerable children,” Dame Esther Rantzen told the Press Association.
“I think all of us have memories of particular Wham! songs and George Michael songs which mean a great deal to us. Certainly, for Britain’s children, George Michael meant so much more,” she said.
For people with disabilities
The pop superstar also donated money to his Platinum Trust, which ran in aid of people with special educational needs according to a 2011 book about his life. Twitter users described it, too.
He kept quiet about it but #georgemichael also set up a Trust which gave grants to work supporting rights of #disabled children and adults.— jenny morris (@jennifermor) 26 December 2016
RIP George Michael pop royalty and humanitarian. The Platinum Trust run by his family helped so many disabled people.— Brenda Ellis (@sapphitweet) 26 December 2016
George Michael also more publicly supported groups like HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust, along with Band Aid and Live Aid, which raise money for anti-famine efforts.
The world has truly lost someone extraordinary.
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