Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock

I'm A Celebrity's Boy George opens up about family's reaction to him coming out as gay

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star Boy George opened up about his family's reaction to him being gay.

The Culture Club icon was chatting with Loose Women's Charlene White and was asked whether his sexuality was a 'surprise' to anyone.

He talked about how his dad would tell his mum to let him 'get beat up' when she worried about his outfit choices.

Discussing his sense of style, he said: "My mum would say [to my dad], ‘Look at what’s he’s wearing’ and my dad used to get his paper [and drop it down to look] and go, ‘If he wants to get beat up let him go out’ and that was it you know?”

Charlene asked: “Was it a surprise to anybody when you were dating boys?”

Boy George opened up about his sexuality and his family's reaction (ITV)

The singer responded: “No. My dad used to do this thing in the car, he’d turn down the music when he was going to make an announcement.

"My brothers were all going to work, he was like radio down, he goes, ‘I need to tell you about your brother’. They said, ‘We know, turn the music up.’”

He also explained where his band Culture Club got its name from.

They initially went for 'Caravan Club' before deciding on 'Can't Wait Club'. Obviously, they settled on Culture Club after a conversation.

"We were called Caravan Club, we were called Can’t Wait Club and then were like, ‘We’re a Culture Club, look at us. You’re Jewish, I’m Irish, you’re Jamaican, Roy’s an Anglosaxon!’" he said.

His family weren't surprised by it (Dave Benett/Getty Images for DKMS)
His group had many names before they chose Culture Club (Press Association)

Get all the biggest showbiz news straight into your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror Showbiz newsletter.

Speaking of his bandmates, he added: "Karma Chameleon they hated. They hated it. They were like, ‘It’s the final nail in our coffin, it’s rubbish’ and I had to fight to get it onto the record.

"I had to say, ‘If you don’t put it on the record, I’m leaving the band.’ I did that every week though. I was the queen ‘stormer outer’.

"Every time I didn’t get my way I was like, ‘I’m leaving!’"

I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! watch the next live episode tomorrow at 9pm on ITV and ITV Hub*

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.