An undercover Beverly Hills cop busted the 34-year-old ex-Wham! star Tuesday afternoon for "engaging in a lewd act" in a local park bathroom, police said.
Police refused to elaborate on the alleged "lewd act." They said only that: (1) Michael was alone; (2) he was doing something; (3) the cop watched him do that something; (4) the cop arrested him.
Michael was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor lewd conduct. He was released later the same day after posting $500 bail, police said.
A court arraignment is set for May 5.
Michael originally reported his name to officers as Georgios Panayiotou--his real, given name. He later copped to being George Michael, the pop star, police said.
The two-time Grammy winner is best known for the hits "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" and "Careless Whisper" (with Wham!) and "Kissing a Fool" from his 1987 debut solo album, Faith.
His song, "I Want Your Sex," from the same album, was considered too hot for the mid-1980s airwaves and banned from many radio stations. Among its lyrics: "Sex is best when it's one on one."
Michael's music career cooled in the 1990s as he warred with Sony to get out of his record contract. Older, released in 1996 by DreamWorks' new music division, was his first new album in six years.
Michael and DreamWorks had no comment Wednesday.
(UPDATED at 12:35 p.m. on 4/8/98)