With openness and a healthy dose of humor, George Michael sat down with CNN last week to discuss his recent arrest on charges of "lewd behavior" and to set the record straight about the incident and speculation about his sexuality.

Just days after he was arrested in the bathroom of a Beverly Hills park (see [article id="1432157"]"George Michael Arrested On Charges Of 'Lewd' Behavior"[/article]), the singer sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN's Jim Moret to, in Michael's words, "put to rest some misconceptions.

Michael steered clear of discussing any details of the incident noting that it is "a legal situation that still is in the air," but he did talk about the effect that the arrest has had on his daily life and his relationship with his fans.

I'm not saying it's been a good time, but it has not been the worst time in my life by any means," Michael told CNN. "It's been humiliating, embarrassing... funny to some degree... but I'm reading

reports coming back from London that I laid awake crying and was devastated and this and that. And the truth was I laid awake quite angry at the situation. And believe me, if this one gets over here: I did not try to convince the arresting officer that I was looking for my lottery ticket when he arrested me.

Michael brought that same frankness to questions about his sexuality, which has been the topic of much speculation in the wake of the arrest.

I want to say that I have no problem with people knowing that I'm in a relationship with a man right now," Michael said. "I have not been in a relationship with a woman for almost ten years. I do want people to know the songs that I wrote when I was with women were really about women, and the songs I've written since have been fairly obviously about men. So I think in terms of my work, I've never been fairly reticent in terms of defining my sexuality. I write about my life and I want people to know, especially people who

loved the earlier stuff, especially if they were young girls at the time, there was no bulls**t there.

The singer went on to say that this open discussion of his sexuality was born out of necessity after the arrest. "I've done it in a way that I didn't really intend to," Michael told CNN of putting his sexuality on the table. "I think having done something as stupid as that -- I'm a very proud man -- I want people to know that I feel stupid and I feel reckless and weak for having allowed my sexuality to be exposed this way, but I don't feel any shame whatsoever.

The singer said that he was most concerned for his fans, who have had to sort through what Michael sees as rabid and often erroneous reporting. "I just want to let them know that I'm okay," Michael said of his fans. "I know a lot of them realize I've had a very tough time over the last 5 or 6 years. And I want to let them know this is not going to finish me off. This is really nothing compared to the bereavements

I've had to deal with. Even compared to the legal situations I've had to deal with, this is kind of... I was going to say a walk in the park, but I don't think that would work here.