EMILY PRESCOTT: Bono rewrites history about the reason he snubbed Paula Yates over becoming Tiger Lilly’s godfather, claims the late star’s publicist
U2 frontman Bono has been accused of rewriting history in his new memoir, in which he describes how he abandoned his friendship with wild-living TV presenter Paula Yates and her rock star lover Michael Hutchence over their spiralling drug use.
The Irish rocker claims he severed ties when the couple asked him to be godfather to their daughter Tiger Lily, and he felt compelled to decline.
But last night his account was branded ‘absurd’ by Paula’s former right-hand woman Gerry Agar-Fennell, who tells me that Bono actually turned down their request because of his close friendship with Paula’s ex, Bob Geldof.
U2 frontman Bono has been accused of rewriting history in his new memoir, in which he describes how he abandoned his friendship with wild-living TV presenter Paula Yates and her rock star lover Michael Hutchence over their spiralling drug use
In his autobiography, Surrender, Bono writes: ‘It should have been the greatest honour when Michael and Paula called on my wife Ali and me to ask us to be godparents to Tiger Lily
In his autobiography, Surrender, Bono writes: ‘It should have been the greatest honour when Michael and Paula called on my wife Ali and me to ask us to be godparents to Tiger Lily.
‘But we were wigged out. They were in freefall, spiralling down the vortex of a recreational drug use that had become hard work for everyone…’
But Gerry says: ‘Bono’s trying to come across as squeaky-clean in his book – it’s so awful and wrong, it’s absolutely absurd. He says he grew uncomfortable around them because of their drug use. But I never saw that.’
Gerry, who was Paula’s publicist and friend, claims she was in the house when INXS frontman Michael made the call to ask Bono to be godfather, and the U2 star had said: ‘Look, I’ve got this friendship with Bob, it’d tear it up if I accepted, it isn’t gonna work. I’m sorry, mate.’ She adds that just a fortnight after Bono turned down the godfather offer, he was happy to go to the South of France with the couple. ‘They were thick as thieves,’ she says.
Gerry also claims the couple’s friends dismissed her concerns about Paula and Michael’s drug use.
‘I was alone in trying to help them,’ she says. ‘I went to all their friends to ask for help, including Bono. But they were all too busy partying, saying they loved each other.’
Gerry’s story comes almost 25 years after Michael took his own life in a Sydney hotel room, aged 37. Ten months later, Paula died of a heroin overdose, aged 41. Tiger Lily, now 26, lives out of the spotlight.
Bono did not respond to a request for comment last night.
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