Boy George has hit back at Twitter users this week who have accused him of being transphobic.
The Culture Club singer posted an umprompted tweet on Tuesday saying people should leave their “pronoun’s (sic) at the door”.
When one follower asked: “Do you not know what the f*** pronouns are?” George answered: “A modern form of attention seeking?”
He copped a lot of flack for the statement, with other Twitter users calling him transphobic.
“I don’t know which offends me more: the transphobia or the misplaced apostrophe. No wait, definitely the transphobia,” one Twitter user responded.
“Well, one of the last people I thought would be transphobic just hit the bottom of the barrel. And thus, blocked,” another added.
But Boy George clapped back at the criticism, uploading a sarcastic video of him wearing false eyelashes.
“Cos I’m phobic, yeah…years of phobia…you ridiculous people!” he said.
#gina pic.twitter.com/Fj4dUjG0nn
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) January 7, 2020
The limelight is not new for Boy George
But, Boy George is no stranger to controversy and has received his fair share of backlash over the years.
After having his fun with some of the commenters on Twitter, even thanking some of them for their criticism, he elaborated on what was meant by the tweet.
“I should have said ‘Leave your pronouns at the door because you won’t need them in my house,” he said.
“I will worship you in all your difference. #OTHER.”
He later followed up the statement with a reference to his song She Was Never a He.
Boy George released the song back in 1999, but its message holds much weight even today.
It tells the tale of Sasha and Jodie, transgender women trying to find their place in the world.
The song explores the dangers and discrimination trans-women in particular face on a day to day basis.
In 2019, at least 25 transgender/non-gender conforming individuals were murdered in the US alone.
But the number is said to be up to about 331 worldwide according to a Trans Respect Versus Transphobia report.
As for Boy George, well it looks like some of the backlash is simmering down. But with that guy who knows? Watch this space.
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