GEORGE MICHAEL DIDN’T ATTEMPT SUICIDE, SAYS FRIEND

A friend of pop star George Michael has dismissed suggestions that the singer tried to commit suicide by jumping out of a moving car.

Michael (49) could have died last week when he fell out of a Range River travelling at around 110 km/h on a British highway.

It’s still unclear what happened, and there has been speculation that the at-times troubled singer might have thrown himself out of the SUV.

“There is no mystery ﾖ he was just trying to shut the door,” an unnamed friend told The Mirror. “George has been perfectly happy and is in a great place. To insinuate that he threw himself out of the car is absurd.”

The source added: “George has been writing a new album and is really pleased with what he’s done so far. It was an accident and he is the first person to put his hand up and say, ‘I’m sorry.’ He deserves more sympathy.”

Motorists who witnessed the incident said the openly gay performer bounced on the road and was nearly hit by other cars.

“There was a nasty cut on his forehead and the back of his head. There was blood all down his face and on his teeth. He was breathing and conscious but in shock,” The Mirror quoted Katherine Fox, who apparently used her car as a shield to stop other vehicles from driving over Michael.

The accident caused a massive traffic jam as the star was airlifted by helicopter to hospital with head injuries. He is said to be recovering well. Police are investigating the accident.

This was not Michael’s first brush with death. In 2011, he was forced to cancel a series of concerts after being hospitalised for severe pneumonia that, he said, could have been deadly.

Earlier that year he apologised for letting gay teens down as a role model following a series of embarrassing accidents, arrests and even eight-weeks of jail time as a result of driving while under the influence of drugs.