Boy George continues to divide the public after last night’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! The 61-year-old singer was asked about his 2008 conviction of assault and false imprisonment by fellow campmate Scartlette Douglas, but it’s his reaction that has caused controversy. Now, ‘Boy George court case’ and 'Boy George radiator handcuffs' are breakout search terms on Google as people seek to know more about his criminal past.
What was Boy George’s court case about?
In December 2008, Boy George was convicted for the assault and false imprisonment of Audun Carlsen, a Norwegian model and male escort who had previously stood for a photography session with George. George was accused of handcuffing him to a wall fixture and beating him with a metal chain, allegations George denied. In court, he claimed that he was under the impression Carlsen had naked photos of him on his laptop, thus handcuffing him to ‘check the computer and his phone’.
In court, George’s defence presented the effects of his long-term drug abuse as a mitigating factor. ‘In hindsight I was having a psychotic episode,’ George told Piers Morgan in an episode of ITV’s Life Stories. ‘I was a drug addict so I can’t sit here and say my reasons for doing it were founded in any way. But I told the truth. I said, “This is why I did it. I was having a paranoid episode”’
During the show Piers asked, 'Have you said sorry?' To which George replied: 'I just did say sorry. I don’t think it would make any difference. I thought if I talked about it, it would make it worse.'
George didn’t go into that kind of detail on last night’s episode of I’m A Celebrity, instead telling Scarlette that much of what’s reported about the incident is tabloid fodder – specifically the allegation that he handcuffed Carlsen to a radiator.
‘Handcuffs is true, but the radiator bit wasn't true, but thanks for bringing it up,’ George said. ‘If I beat someone up there would be photographs, and there were none because it didn't happen. When you beat someone up, the first thing the police do is take a photograph and they show them in court. There were no photos because I didn't do that.
‘But I did do one thing. I did handcuff him, yeah,’ he continued. ‘Because I'd handcuffed the guy, I'd already assaulted him. So, when I said, “I did it”, I thought, I'll tell the truth they'll let me go home. I went to prison for four months. I was on tag for four months as well.'
It’s important to note that a court did find George guilty of assault. During sentencing at Snaresbrook crown court, Judge David Radford said the following: ‘Whilst I accept that Mr Carlsen's physical injuries were not serious or permanent, in my view there can be no doubt that your premeditated, callous and humiliating hand-cuffing and detention of Mr Carlsen shocked, degraded and traumatised.’
George was sentenced to 15 months in prison, serving four, and was required to wear an ankle monitor for the remainder of his sentence. It’s been 13 years since his release now, but according to George it is still a ‘sore point’. Last night, he expressed his disappointment that he had even been asked about the incident, saying in the Bush Telegraph, ‘Scarlette blatantly talked about my court case. I thought it was inappropriate what she did, actually. I thought she shouldn't have said what she said to me. And I thought I handled it really well as it's a big sore point for me when people say things like that.’
Viewers haven’t taken his reaction kindly, some accusing him of hypocrisy as the singer has repeatedly fought for the right to question fellow campmate Matt Hancock on everything he did wrong during Covid (which you can find out more about here).
After photos were released of Matt Hancock kissing his now girlfriend Gina Coladangelo, Hancock (who was married to somebody else at the time) released a statement that said: 'I accept that I breached the social distancing guidance in these circumstances. I have let people down and am very sorry.
'I remain focused on working to get the country out of this pandemic, and would be grateful for privacy for my family on this personal matter.'
It seems the Culture Club star is dividing viewers even more so than the disgraced politician, but should we be comparing the two? When we compare two men’s terrible actions, we only serve to discount the very real harm done by the one deemed least objectionable. It’s perfectly reasonable to make judgements about Boy George’s actions, but by pitting them against each other we detract from Matt Hancock’s own failures and enable his behaviour as he regains favour with the British public – all simply by seeming less objectionable than Boy George. And that’s exactly what shows like this do, when such divisive characters are put next to each other, the least awful seeming person comes out looking great, their terrible reputation repaired despite doing little to actually show they’ve changed or regret their actions. Of course, that’s not to say Matt hasn’t or doesn’t, but that’s a judgement we should all be making irrespective of whether Boy George is likeable or not.