Boy George’s new memoir, Karma: The Definitive Autobiography, has revealed more details of encounters with fellow pop stars – this time about Madonna.
READ MORE: Boy George: “There’s been this loss of respect for the artistry of songwriting”
The Culture Club singer began by writing about his first time meeting Madonna. “This is where Madonna alleges she met me, and I was bitchy,” he wrote in an excerpt shared with PEOPLE. He added that while Madonna claims to have seen him dressed “head to toe in [Vivienne] Westwood” attire, he was actually exclusively wearing Sue Clowes garments at the time, making him suspect that she was interacting with a different person.
He then wrote about a later encounter with the ‘Like A Virgin’ singer, this time at a New York City club called Palladium. “Madonna arrived with Sean Penn and pretended she didn’t see me,” he alleged. “Madonna is everything it says on the tin but she adds new ingredients every day. I know for a fact she’s too full of herself to even mention me. She once said, ‘Boy George was mean to me in the eighties and he’s still mean.’ To be fair, I haven’t really been given the opportunity.”
Nonetheless, George clarified that he still liked “some” of her songs, though he also notes that Madonna may take offence at his less-than-favourable comments, writing: “I have a sense of humour, I don’t think Madonna does, despite some of the clothes she wears (LOL).”
Boy George of Culture Club performs in concert during ‘The Letting It Go Show’ at Germania Insurance Amphitheater on August 12, 2023 in Austin, Texas (CREDIT: Rick Kern/WireImage)
He continued by stating that while he finds pop stars’ eccentricities fascinating, he wishes Madonna was more approachable. “I love all the drama of, you know, the pop star behavior. I love to watch Madonna. I mean, the Madonna brand is genius,” he expressed. “But outside of that, you know, it’s how you act. You know, because you want, as I say in the book, you want your artists to be weirdly beautiful and strange and all that, but you also want them to be kind of ordinary.”
Finally, he conveyed his hope that the pair would one day make amends, writing: “Like Bette and Joan, we should have been friends. There’s still time.”
Madonna is the second pop star Boy George was found to write about in a less than flattering manner in his memoir. Earlier this month, he was found to have written about his run-ins with Janet Jackson, calling her “unfriendly”. Included was an anecdote about Jackson failing to acknowledge George while the pair were backstage at a taping for a variety show. When Jackson finally told him that she did not recognise him earlier, he responded: “‘Are you saying you would have been nice to me if you knew who I was?’ We parted on awkward terms.”
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