Do we like Boy George?
Our score: 5 out of 10. A vocal ally on trans rights, but a 2009 conviction, a costly bandmate dispute and a messy Israel row keep him mid-table.
George Alan O'Dowd was born in Eltham, London, in 1961 to Irish parents, one of six kids, and called himself the family's “pink sheep”. He was expelled from school over his clothes and makeup, then found the New Romantic scene. Culture Club's 1982 debut produced “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?”, a number one in 16 countries, and Karma Chameleon followed.
On the harm test, his record on trans people is solid. In April 2025 he defended Pedro Pascal on X, writing “Stop this nonsense that if you don't agree with @jk_rowling you hate women.” In January 2026 he answered a mum whose trans son was locked out of his room, saying the “only confusion is in the father's head”.
The asterisk is the Israel song. “We Will Dance Again”, released 26 July and reportedly made with AI, backs Israel and disputes the UN commission's genocide finding. Heaven 17 co-founder Martyn Ware called it “pro-genocide” propaganda. George says he is defending his Jewish friends and told the Jewish Chronicle “I am always going to defend the people that I love.” Where you land depends on whether you read it as solidarity or as dismissing Gaza's dead.
Then it got messier. He parted ways with the boss of his record label over the song, and on 6 August he posted claims that Dua Lipa wanted Israel wiped off the earth. PinkNews reported that no credible source had verified those statements. In October he told Israeli TV he'd had threats and defaced posters, and said “I never, ever said I didn't care about Palestine.”
The good stuff in what we read is thin on charity but warm in tone: that reply to a mum supporting her trans son, and a long run of loud allyship on trans rights. We didn't find a sustained charity role. So he passes the harm test with an asterisk, but the conviction, the bandmate fight and the Dua Lipa post leave the good-person test a close call. Fans of the music can enjoy it, with eyes open.