International News

LONDON (Reuters) - British singer George Michael has received medical treatment after a car crash on Thursday, his publicist said.

The 49-year-old former Wham! frontman was being treated for "minor cuts and bruises" after the accident, Michael's spokeswoman said.

"George Michael was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a traffic accident yesterday evening, no third party was involved," a spokeswoman said on Friday. "He is being treated for superficial cuts and bruises but is fine."

British media reported that the accident occurred just outside London on a motorway during rush hour.

The "Careless Whisper" singer has suffered a string of accidents and health scares recently.

Last year he canceled his tour of Australia due to "major anxiety" brought on by a 2011 battle with severe pneumonia in Vienna, where he was treated in intensive care for a month for a life-threatening illness.

Michael has sold an estimated 100 million records over his career, but has hit headlines in recent years for his personal life more often than for his music.

In 1998 he was arrested in California for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet and also had a number of run-ins with British police for possession of narcotics. He served a term in jail for driving under the influence of cannabis.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato; editing by Mike Collett-White)