Boy George reveals truth behind acting like a diva and his heartbreaking struggles

Really, you want to hate me, right? asks Boy George.

The Culture Club star says he can’t understand why some people aren’t a fan – insisting he’s not “dislikable”. Over the years, the singer has engaged in numerous extremely public altercations, including ones with famous people like Madonna and George Michael. When people really don’t like me and I’m like, he said to his pal Lulu, “I’m actually shocked when people just roll their eyes,” he said. “If you knew me, you couldn’t possibly dislike me because I’m not likeable but there are some people who just roll their eyes.”

Boy George, whose real name is George O’Dowd, has had some very public relations rifts. People he’s feuded with include Madonna, former bandmate Jon Moss and reality star Vogue Williams.

He once branded the Material Girl a “hypocrite” for supporting Kabbalah, but later said it was out of jealously and apologised. Moss was George’s former bandmate and ex-boyfriend in the 1980s band Culture Club. Moss was fired in 2018 and the band members sued George and the others for unpaid wages. The band settled the case by paying Moss £1.75 million. George was once described by Vogue Williams as “having a personal grudge against me” because he hadn’t responded to her on social media.

He only cherished David Bowie, though. “I used to send him emails – I’d send these tirades of love and worship, and I’d get a line back”, he said.

The 63-year-old Karma Chameleon singer admits being a diva as an up and coming musician. “Sometimes it’s avoiding that default behaviour – don’t tell me what to do and all that stuff”, he explains. There was a point in my early career when I would always kick off and throw up in the air, which I remember because I believed I was in charge if I refused to say no and that I would never do it, which I always did.

Boy George revealed his criminal past in the jungle when he first appeared on I’m A Celebrity in 2022. After handcuffing Audun Carlsen to a wall during a drug-crazed night, the singer was imprisoned in 2009 for an attack on him. George has consistently refuted a court’s claim that he beat Audun with a chain, pleads not guilty to false imprisonment. However, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison after being found guilty of assault and false imprisonment.

Boy George continued to perform with the band and set the new wave group Culture Club’s top chart dominance in the 1980s. He says he dreams of a new career. “I want to learn to act”, he revealed on The Lulu Podcast: Turning Points, out today. “Be a bit more confident, I don’t want to feel those nerves when I’m on stage… and I didn’t realise you could get better at that, you have to practice”.

He is set to feature in new Apple TV+ show Kpopped, alongside Spice Girls Mel B and Emma Bunton. According to reports, the series, which is scheduled to air later this year, will feature a different Western artist in each of the eight episodes, working with household names in K-pop to reimagine one of their biggest hits. Megan Thee Stallion and Gangnam Style singer Psy will also be featured in the film, which is executive produced by Lionel Richie.

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Source: Mirror