Crooner George Michael has been released from prison where he was serving an eight-week sentence for a second time offense of driving under the influence.
The Wham! and Outside singer, whose real name is Georgios Panayiotou, was released this morning from Suffolk’s Highpoint Prison in East England after serving only four of the eight weeks handed down to him as penalty for driving under the influence and being in possession of marijuana.
Michael, who is 47, began his prison time at infamous Pentonville Prison in London, know for its toughness, but was moved to Highpoint, a category C penitentiary, where he said the fellow inmates treated him kindly.
The star sent out a message to family and friends, despite the fact that he would be released, telling them of his time in jail:
“Please believe me when I tell you that in the last three weeks there have been no tears, no anxiety, no bullying, in fact not so much as a sleepless night for me. On the contrary, I have been treated with kindness by fellow in-mates and prison staff alike and as far as I can tell, have received no special treatment of any kind whatsoever.”
Michael continued, "Most of my days have been spent reading thousands of letters and postcards of incredible support from people around the world. I promise to repay their kindness with new music as soon as I possibly can."
Michael is expected to be under probation for the rest of his sentence, and has lost his license for five years.
