Boy George responds to ‘transphobia’ backlash in the absolute worst way and really needs to log out of Twitter
Boy George has mockingly denied allegations of transphobia in the face of mounting criticism from his fans and followers.
The Culture Club singer attracted controversy when he tweeted that disclosing your pronouns is “a modern form of attention seeking”. This followed an earlier tweet from January 6 where he urged people to “leave your pronouns at the door”.
When a Twitter user asked him: “What does it take to show others respect by using their preferred pronouns?” George replied: “Thanks for that, but I have eyes and can mostly describe what I see!”
Specifying your pronouns – on or offline – is a small act that harms no one while helping to encourage inclusivity and demonstrate solidarity with the trans community. Boy George’s stance against this came as a shock to many, particularly in light of his famously androgynous style and bisexual orientation.
Of course, being bisexual doesn’t mean you can’t be transphobic, as Boy George proved when he doubled down on his ‘anti-trans’ views.
On January 7 he decided to dig himself into an even deeper hole by flippantly tweeting: “There’s nothing ‘phobic’ about Miss Boy George! Nish! Nada!”
The star later uploaded a video of himself sporting false eyelashes and make-up, sarcastically telling viewers: “I’m loving that you can choose bigger eyelashes, because I’m really ‘phobic’, look at me!”
#gina pic.twitter.com/Fj4dUjG0nn
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) January 7, 2020
“Oh yeah because eyelashes erase your transphobia,” replied a bisexual trans woman.
“When you tell trans people to leave their pronouns at the door, it tells me you don’t get it,” commented another trans woman. “Throwing on a pair of lashes is supposed to make you instantly become pro trans now? Um…”
In a reply to another disappointed fan, Boy George claimed: “I actually show great respect to people. Always have. I have also made mistakes.”
On January 8, PinkNews reached out to Boy George’s management, who replied: “The concept of […] asking whether Boy George is transphobic is so stupid it doesn’t warrant a response.”