The Ugly of Boy George

Boy George - The Ugly

Sadly, trouble returned to Boy George's life and he was arrested after a male model was shackled to a radiator and attacked by the singer and an accomplice in 2007, according to an article from the Independent. George was sentenced to 15-months, serving 4 months for good behavior (he wore an ankle monitor and had a curfew for the remainder of his sentence).

Asked by The Evening Standard if he felt the punishment fit the crime, he replied "It's something that happened, and sitting here worrying about whether it was the right thing and 'Did I deserve it?' ... it happened. And I dealt with it." When first reading the above quote, it seems that he has come to terms with this episode from his past.

Yet, there is another side to this coin. Auden Carlsen, the man who was handcuffed and beaten, has come out to speak about his side of the story. In both the article from the Independent and one from The Sun, he speaks of how he was hired by George twice, to be photographed by the singer. During the second visit to his flat, the aforementioned incident occurred - Boy George thought the model had stolen photographs from his computer - and Boy George and another man beat Carlsen and chained him to a radiator while high on cocaine. Panicked, the model was eventually able to free himself and flee into the streets, nearly naked and bleeding. The incident scarred Carlsen, who admitted he spent years in therapy for the trauma this event caused him, as depression and anxiety followed in the wake of the attack.

Now, Boy George is clean and sober again, and his image is on the rise. He has participated in The Voice UK, The Voice Australia, Celebrity Big Brother, as well as releasing new music and touring. Carlsen told The Sun, "the BBC should be ashamed of themselves for employing Boy George after everything he did to me. He shouldn't be allowed to be a mentor - they should axe him. He is a criminal who has been to prison. If a male celebrity beat up a woman with a chain, handcuffed her to a wall and threatened her with a sex toy, there would be a public outcry if he was given a high-profile job at the BBC. But because I am a gay man they think it's OK. It's outrageous."

This is an important point, one that in this day of the #metoo movement deserves a pause. As the Independent states, only 3 - 5 % of male victims of abuse in the U.K. report crimes against them. How do we view male victims of sexual violence in our society, whether their perpetrators are famous or not? We have seen how scores of famous (and once revered) men have fallen from grace in the last few years, due to the uprising of victims voices that will remain silent no more.

As of May 2018, over 86 men in the field of arts and entertainment had been accused in one way or another of sexual harassment or assault. Some of the names include: Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Bill O'Reilly, and the list goes on. Most of the names have been accused by female victims, yet others, like Spacey and Bryan Singer have been accused by males. This shows that the abuse does not have a gender preference, simply a need for power and the opportunity to let the mistreatment occur.

Although Boy George deserves a great deal of respect for his life's work, as well as how he has succeeded in rehabilitating himself over the last decade, Auden Carlsen's words underscore that violence does happen to men, and can be just as damaging to their lives as it is for women victims. As a huge Bravo fan, I was thrilled to see Boy George had become an on-again, off-again feature on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Who wouldn't want this eccentric man as their best friend and houseguest? It added an element to the show that was thrilling for those of us who grew up watching his career and being awed by his oversized personality.

Yet, now one wonders what people like Andy Cohen (producer of the Bravo show and an openly gay man who is a very strong gay rights activist in his own right) think of Boy George's past deeds and how George came to terms with them, if indeed we can compare Boy George's indiscretions to those of other men who have been accused? It would be an interesting question to ask on Watch What Happens Live.

Everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves. In the court of public opinion, it seems that Boy George has done just this. Yet, at the same time, it would be unfair to ignore the plight of the victim and the continuing anguish they may feel when turning on the television, radio, or reading the newspaper and seeing their aggressor in front of their eyes. Especially when Boy George takes a rather flat-line approach to the crime having admitted that "it happened. And I dealt with it."

Yes, he did deal with it - in the high courts, with his sentence and rehabilitation. But where does it leave the victim, and the trauma of the event that changed his life? And where does it leave our view of Boy George - how do we incorporate this horrible act and crime and reconcile it with this new public persona of an apparently benign and Buddha-like man?

"I went to prison; therefore, I've been rehabilitated,
and now I want to get on with my life.
I have paid for what I did, end of story."
- Boy George

There are no easy answers. Does it make one less appreciative of the magic that is Boy George? No. However, it makes one see the "man behind the curtain", the incredibly human, fallible side of him.

No one can or should expect perfection, from themselves or their idols. What we can expect is that public figures (and anyone else) accept their misdeeds and work on bettering themselves and the world around them. One can hope that Boy George continues on that path.

Accepting your faults - and the wrongs you have done - is part of the path to both enlightenment and recovery.

The Independent write-up of False Imprisonment

The Sun write up of False Imprisonment