Boy George is no stranger to stirring conversation, and in a recent interview, the iconic Culture Club frontman opened up about his complex relationship with LGBTQ+ identity politics.
Speaking to The Times, the openly gay pop legend expressed his belief that modern queer identity politics haven’t helped the community as much as many might think.
“I don’t think it’s helped anyone,” George said, emphasizing that queer people shouldn’t be lumped into one group or ideology.
“We’re not a thing,” he added. “It’s like, ‘This is what Black people are, this is what Jewish people are, this is what trans people are.’ No!”
George argued that identity politics often miss the mark by treating marginalized groups as homogenous, when in fact everyone is fundamentally different.
“Everybody is diverse because nobody is like anybody else,” he said. “So you’re starting from the wrong perspective.”
Never one to shy away from blunt phrasing, George added, “Nobody gets to choose what color eyes they have, how big their penis is, how fat their arse is.”
Earlier in the conversation, the “Karma Chameleon” singer also reflected on transphobia, especially in digital spaces, saying, “Trans people are the new people to hate,” and questioned how much of that hostility actually exists offline.
“There’s the world on the internet, which is hideous and full of anger. Then there’s the real world, which is entirely different.”
George has faced controversy before, including accusations of transphobia in 2020 after tweeting “Leave your pronouns at the door!”
However, he has repeatedly defended the trans community, including during his ongoing feud with J.K. Rowling, calling the Harry Potter author “a rich, bored bully” for her anti-trans rhetoric.
For George, labels and sexual orientation are not the point.
“If I’m lucky, my own sexuality takes up about three hours a month,” he quipped. “We’ve all got cats to feed, families to visit, jobs to do.”
He recalled a quote from his youth: “Being gay is like eating a bag of crisps. It’s so not important.”
In a nod to his theatrical roots, George also spoke about his 2002 musical Taboo, based on his friend Leigh Bowery.
The show explored themes of fluidity and nonconformity, including Bowery’s unconventional relationship with his wife Nicola, which George described as “tender and full of love.”
Reflecting on Leigh Bowery’s legacy, George said, “He wouldn’t have wanted to be called a blueprint for gay identity. He would have hated that.”
As he works to revive Taboo in a new era of queer dialogue, Boy George remains, as ever, defiantly himself—refusing easy categorization and asking bold, uncomfortable questions about how we define each other.