Video row exiles George Michael

George Michael's new video lampoons the relationship between Blair and Bush

LONDON, England -- Singer George Michael says he can no longer return to his U.S. home because of the uproar over his controversial new single and video.

The star -- whose single "Shoot The Dog" has been seen as anti-American -- said he felt his life was in danger.

He told ITV1's Tonight With Trevor McDonald programme, to be screened on Friday, that he put much of the criticism down to homophobia.

Michael has chiefly lived in the U.S. for a number of years with his partner Kenny Goss.

But he said an attack by a New York Post newspaper -- in which he was branded a "past-his-prime pop pervert" -- has made life too difficult in the United States.

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He said he had been forced to undertake "damage control" with a number of interviews.

"It's been very heavily inferred that I was actually an al Qaeda sympathiser, that somehow I thought that there was something not horrific and shocking about the attacks on September 11.

"I was trying to do some damage control because my life was in danger. Americans are very reactionary right now and I -- because of that article -- cannot return to America, even though my partner lives there.

"I love my home there, I love Kenny's family, I spend time, sometimes, in Dallas and some time in LA."

The video lampoons the relationship between UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush.

"I did release a statement anticipating a misreading of the video to try and make people understand that I'm not anti-American in any sense," he stressed.

He said that his critics were unable to accept his opinions without his sexuality and arrest for lewd conduct being dragged up.

"I don't think that there's any real connection between what I'm saying and the fact that I'm a gay man. But there's a lot of connection in the press as to those two things.

"For some reason I don't have a right to talk about anything because I got caught four years ago with a police officer in a Los Angeles toilet.

"Somehow that eradicates all possibility that what I'm saying might be for the best or is worthy of being discussed.

"I can't fight that kind of homophobia here and now. I think that it might continue. I think I might be up for much worse homophobia."

He denied the controversy over "Shoot The Dog" was simply an attempt to whip up publicity to revive his career.

"This would be the most stupid publicity stunt anyone ever pulled. I mean look at the publicity, I've got out of it.

"I'm not stupid -- I knew I was going to walk into a wall of criticism because these are very reactionary times, but they're also very urgent times and I felt that I had to do this."

"Shoot The Dog" is not actually being released in the U.S., but is available in the UK on August 5.