Is Boy George gay? The rumors, explained

Ah, the 1980s, the pinnacle of teased hair, synth pop, and androgynous rock stars. While there are plenty of outrageous pop stars from the era, none rose quite as fast – or fell quite as hard – as Culture Club lead singer Boy George. From his over-the-top fashion choices (he once wore a coat made from a couch slip) to his daring make-up looks, The Englishman defined a generation of pop and smashed through misconceptions about the gay community left and right. With all that said, it’s pretty safe to assume what the answer to this question is, but like any good story, there’s more to it than a simple yes or no answer.

Is Boy George gay?

You aren’t the first person to speculate on Boy George’s sexuality. Long before gay icons like Jeffree Star and Sam Smith were creating safe havens for gay youths, Boy George was smashing down barriers and rising above his haters. News anchors have been questioning his romantic proclivities for decades. His eccentric style brought the questions early and often. When Joan Rivers interviewed the then 22-year-old in 1983, one of her first questions was about which gender he preferred. At the time, Boy George claimed to like both equally and fully embraced the bi-sexual label. He claimed to be bisexual again about two years later during an interview with Barbara Walters.

It wasn’t until after he struggled with heroin in the late 1980s that George would come out. In his autobiography, Take it Like a Man Boy, George stated that he was actually gay and not bisexual. He revealed two long-term relationships — one with Culture Club drummer Jon Moss and the other with English punk musician Kirk Brandon. While Jon Moss has kept quiet about the affair, Kirk Brandon has not.

In Take it Like a Man, Boy George spoke openly about his love for Brandon and shared details of their romantic and sexual affair. Brandon sued, claiming that the details damaged his career as a musician, and objected to the lyrics of Boy George’s solo song, “Unfinished Business.” Brandon, who had married a Danish woman the year before, took umbrage to the lyrics, “I hear you married a Danish girl… You break your promise easily… You lie, you lie, you lie. Yeah, tough guy, you know exactly what I mean.”

The courts ruled in Boy George’s favor, and Brandon was ordered to pay £200,000. He filed for bankruptcy, and Boy George was forced to cover the remaining £20k in legal fees.

Since his 1995 reveal, Boy George hasn’t disclosed any dating information. While his dating life is hush-hush, the singer’s sex capades have landed him in some trouble. He was convicted of falsely imprisoning a Norwegian Male escort in 2009. While the escort maintains that he was captured and beaten, Boy George claims that, while he did capture the model, there was never any violence. George was sentenced to 15 months in prison but was released in 11 for good behavior.