In the Culture Club hit, “Karma Chameleon,” Boy George sang, “I’m a man without conviction,” but he has proved the opposite to be true in a post to his X account on April 7 in which he wrote about his support for Israel.
In the post, Boy George wrote, “It's very trendy to hate Israel, but I have always said 'fashion for the fragile, style for the brave,’” alongside a photo of himself with the group Culture Club from the 1980s.
It’s not the first time that Boy George demonstrated his affinity for Israel and the Jewish people. In the video for the song “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”, he wore a shirt that read “Tarbut Aguda” in Hebrew letters, which translates roughly to “culture association.” Many Israelis loved seeing Hebrew in a popular music video and embraced the song, the singer, and the band.
In the photo with the X post, Culture Club’s drummer Jon Moss is wearing an outfit decorated with the Hebrew words, “Tarbut Aguda” and a Jewish star.
Boy George, whose real name is George Alan O’Dowd, has performed in Israel several times, both as a solo artist and with Culture Club. In 2024, he was among over 400 artists and celebrities who signed an open letter in support of Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Boy George defends Lady Gaga
When a clip of Lady Gaga performing in Israel a decade ago and proclaiming her love for the country was reposted recently, she came in for a great deal of criticism, but Boy George came to her defense, writing on X: “I love Israel too. Blaming an entire people is moronic. You can be against war and still love humanity. Good for her. She loves her Israeli fans. Like I do. Some of them were probably killed on Oct 7th. I have DJ’d in Tel Aviv a number of times. I hope I will in the future!”
In 2020, he collaborated with Israeli musician Asaf Goren on the song “Rainbow in the Dark,” which has English and Hebrew lyrics.
Following his April 7 post about Israel, he came in for both derision and compliments, and engaged with those who responded, telling one who said he was uncomfortable with picking a side, “I agree but lot's of the hatred is going one way which feels like hideous history.”