‘I know what I did’: Boy George says he wants to draw a line under assault conviction and admits he was ‘on a lot of drugs’ when it happened
Boy George has said he has drawn a line under his 2009 criminal conviction and prison stint.
The singer, 61, served four months out of a 15-month jail sentence after being found guilty of assault and the false imprisonment of male escort Auden Carlsen.
Speaking to The Sun, George said he was prosecuted on his own evidence after he told the police he handcuffed Carlsen.
Speaking out: Boy George has said he has drawn a line under his 2009 criminal conviction and prison stint (pictured in September 2022)
He said: ‘There was naivety but I was on a lot of drugs. I don’t want to hurt the guy, I don’t hate him or wish him any harm, I’m like, move on with your life because I have.
‘I remember sitting in my cell thinking, “You’ve done this and you’ve got to fix it”, and I have.’
George, whose real name is George O’Dowd, said he apologised to his mother Dinah over the incident.
He said: ‘She said, “Don’t apologise just stay sober”, I know what I did and what I didn’t – I’ve apologised and been sober since.’
Conviction: The singer, 61, served four months out of a 15-month jail sentence after being found guilty of assault and the false imprisonment of male escort Auden Carlsen (pictured)
The star added that the interview was a ‘big moment’ because he will ‘never discuss this again’.
George first met Audun Carlsen, 43, in 2007 when the Karma Chameleon hitmaker got in touch via a dating site and asked Audun to model items from his clothing range.
They met at George’s flat in Shoreditch, East London, where they drank wine and took cocaine but things took an unwanted turn.
After returning from the shop, George set upon Audun with another man, claiming the visitor had tried to hack into his computer, beating him and leaving him handcuffed to a wall fixture from which he escaped by wrenching himself free.
George said: ‘There was naivety but I was on a lot of drugs. I don’t want to hurt the guy. I don’t hate him or wish him any harm. I’m like, move on with your life because I have’
Still traumatised by the incident, Auden criticised ITV for putting Boy George on I’m A Celebrity, saying it would have been different if the singer had hurt a woman.
He told The Mirror: ‘Had I been a woman and he did what he did, he would never have been given the platform. It’s hurtful that big organisations like ITV give him that platform.
‘I think giving him this sort of platform and a record fee sends the wrong message to survivors of violence and abuse and is plain wrong.’
He added: ‘I remember sitting in my cell thinking, “You’ve done this and you’ve got to fix it.” And I have’ (pictured in August 2022)
A representative for George told MailOnline: ‘George went to jail for four months willingly after openly confessing to false imprisonment during a psychotic break 15 years ago whilst in the midst of a well documented drug problem.
‘Not only has he been a pillar of society ever since, but he also remains sober to this day.
‘He apologised publicly on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories four years ago and we are very proud of him for his rehabilitation.
‘Everyone is entitled to a second chance and George has certainly earned it.’
Jailed: George was jailed in 2009 for 15 months after being found guilty of assault and false imprisonment, but was given early release after four months for good behaviour
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