Songfacts®:

• In April 1998, George Michael was arrested by an undercover police officer for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet in Beverly Hills; his arrest was part of a sting operation aimed at entrapping cruising homosexuals. This surprising high-profile catch confirmed rumors that had circulated about the star for years, in spite of his drop-dead good looks, his long career as a teen heartthrob and the odd paparazzi photo of him with a gorgeous girl on his arm.
  
  After his arrest, Michael came clean about his closet homosexuality - which was obviously a weight off his mind - and in due course made a typical response with "Outside." While the song contains no obvious reference to his encounter with Officer Rodriguez, the accompanying video, which among other things shows him dressed as a police officer kissing another male officer intensely, left no doubt that like many people, he wondered if precious police time might not be used more productively investigating real crimes instead of putting temptation in the way of men whose activities are innocuous if sordid.
• Not everybody appreciated Michael's sense of humor, especially Marcelo Rodriguez, and he filed a $10 million lawsuit against the singer-songwriter claiming the video mocked him and that Michael had libeled him in magazine and TV interviews. After protracted litigation, the frivolous suit was dismissed. >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2