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[Dalek]

After George Michael's Death, Stories Emerge Of His Quiet Generosity

British pop star George Michael, who died over the weekend at the age of 53, was famous for his sex appeal, his songwriting gifts and his enduring voice — and for his personal life, which was treated as tabloid fodder.

But not everything he did made headlines.

Since Michael's death, charities and fans have revealed that the iconic singer was also a dedicated philanthropist — making large donations, and working hard to keep them out of the public eye.

Among the charities he quietly aided, The Associated Press reports, were Macmillan Cancer Support, Childline, and the London-based HIV-awareness organization Terrence Higgins Trust.

Michael donated the royalties from "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," his 1991 duet with Elton John, to the Trust, the AP reports. Michael kept his repeated donations to the Trust private.

The proceeds from the 1996 song "Jesus to a Child" went to Childline, the wire service says. The founder of the organization told the AP that Michael had donated millions of dollars over the years, and was "determined" that no one outside the charity know how much he had given.

And on Twitter, news of more donations — big and small — have been spilling out. DJ Mick Brown said when he would run a charity drive at Easter, George would call in every year, at the same time, with a 100,000-pound donation (more than $122,000 today; it would have been worth even more at previous exchange rates).

Richard Osman, who was the executive producer of Deal or No Deal, says the star once secretly donated 15,000 pounds for a contestant who said she needed money for IVF treatment.

Michael frequently gave performances to support charities. He held a free concert for nurses in the U.K. after his mother died, saying he realized how "undervalued" nurses are and wanted to thank them for their work. And he was part of the original star-studded Band Aid charity recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

But aside from those concerts, Michael's charitable works rarely made headlines. Tabloids would luridly cover Michael's sex life and drug problems, while dedicating just two sentences to a donation. And that's when his donations were public information — and based on the reports appearing now, Michael frequently requested anonymity or no publicity around his charity.

One woman on Twitter says she volunteered alongside him at a homeless shelter — an act he asked the other volunteers to keep quiet about.

n 1993, Michael spoke to MTV about a charity album that he recorded for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the AIDS-fighting organization founded in Freddie Mercury's honor.

The Independent noted at the time that the interview was unusual, because "George Michael doesn't like to talk about the amount of work he does for charity."

And Michael made it clear he wasn't there to talk up his own work:

"Everyone's got really pissed off listening to celebrities patting each other on the back saying how generous they are being," he told MTV. "And they are right to.

"The reason I am doing this interview is to support the Phoenix Trust," Michael said, according to The Independent. "It's very important these tracks get heard."

What an awesome, amazing guy.

 

[OricWindstar]

What a badass.

 

[Violence Jack]

He had an amazingly kind heart, and a giving soul. I hope this inspires other artists to follow in his footsteps.

 

[HStallion]

I didn't know all that much about George Michael aside from his music but he sounded like an absolutely stand up guy, a legit good person as you can tell this wasn't done for an ego boost but to help. RIP

 

[SuperBanana]

It's really nice to see good stories come out and not bad ones. What a cool guy.

 

[The Broken Ska Record]

Whoa. My respect for George Michael grows with each day.

 

[Weckum]

Dude was a boss. Absolute boss.

Also made one of the greatest video's ever

 

[gamz]

That's awesome!

 

[Bruce Springsteen]

RIP to a beautiful soul

 

[T.O.P]

Dude sounds like it was a great fuckin guy, rip

 

[SlipperyFishes]

Yet this is how the cunts in UK media treated him

https://twitter.com/dannydutch/status/813681437811605504

Never let them forget they are shit stirring fucks who failed to ruin the kind heart of a man they put through hell.

Thank you, George

 

[Izuna]

My Mom's also opening up with some stories and...

this guy was incredible.

Tabloids can go fuck themselves.

--

edit: and she can go fuck herself for as long as she's still homophobic

 

[munchie64]

Wow, that's amazing. Always good to find out the good stuff people did after they pass.

 

[GreatestHits]

Bad ass. I need to learn more about this dude.

 

[entremet]

Kinda sad that tabloids make money off real human frailties--which we all have to some extent.

George Michael always appeared like a kind soul. Good to see that was corroborated.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

One woman on Twitter says she volunteered alongside him at a homeless shelter — an act he asked the other volunteers to keep quiet about.

This one tho.

He could've just sent them some money like what most people in his position would do but he actually took the time to volunteer and put in an effort.

What a guy.

 

[Spiritreaver]

That's amazing. A shame such a giving person had to go so early in life.

 

[Plinko]

That's awesome. I love hearing stories like this.

 

[pablito]

Didn't know much about him. Sounds like he was a great guy. RIP

 

[shadowkat]

These are great stories.

 

[mr jones]

I'm sure that there are many celebrities who donate time and money on the down low. It is nice to know that they're decent human beings, and not as elitist as media portrays them.

What does suck is how the tabloids trashed the guy.

 

[Tambini]

Good guy, he was also brilliantly self deprecating on Extras

 

[| Praxis |]

The guy had class. Never liked his music, but always admired him and how he dealt with controversy, he just owned it and didn't let it own him. Reading this just makes me respect him more.

 

[Any Questions]

I am a fan. It's good to know he was really charitable. Everybody could take a leaf from his book.

 

[Dalek]

Good guy, he was also brilliantly self deprecating on Extras

I forgot all about that.

 

[Peltz]

Amazing that he did it all in secret. It just shows that the only thing he wanted with his charitable endeavors was to help others.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Good guy George