Boy George ‘never’ wanted to be straight, says prison sentence was a ‘gift’
The singer has opened up about his sexuality, drug use and how his stint in prison helped him reassess his life.
Boy George has spoken candidly about his time in prison and described it as “a gift” – saying it gave him some time to himself.
However, The Voice coach – who was sentenced to 15 months in prison for falsely imprisoning a male escort in 2009 – knew he would have to work hard “at getting my self-respect back” following his sentence.
“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,” he told ES Magazine.
“I went through the whole, ‘What have you done? This is not my life. This is a disaster.’
“But I always had the sense that I’d get through it.”
“The gift it gave me was time with myself. I went into prison sober. I knew I had a lot of work to do.
“I’ve worked very hard at getting myself back in shape, getting my career back, getting my self-respect back,” he added.
“I knew it would take time, and it has. But I’m starting to feel the rewards of that work.”
On his previous struggles with addiction, he said that he has “made peace” with his demons.
“I’m in recovery and I hear a lot of people talking about how drugs destroyed their lives,” he explained.
“It’s not unique to pop stars. An addict is an extreme person whether it’s drugs or fame or being in love or food.”
He continues: “An addict is an addict. But until you can say, ‘I’m an addict’, you can’t start to make peace with those demons.”
The Culture Club star also discussed his sexuality, before opening up about his love life.
“Even when I was ten, I just thought, ‘It’s what I’m meant to be and that’s the end of it.’ I never, ever wanted to be straight.”
“Am I happy? I would have found that question really weird ten years ago. Like, ‘What a f**king weird thing to ask me!’” he says.
“But yeah, I’m happy a lot of the time. I mean, really, what have I got to complain about?”
You can read the full interview with Boy George in this week’s issue of Evening Standard magazine – out today.
