Boy George: what did singer say about prison sentence, court case, conviction, and radiators on I’m A Celeb?

Scarlette Douglas’ untactful grilling of the Culture Club singer furthered tensions in camp
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Three of this year’s I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! contestants will be offered the opportunity to temporarily leave behind the rising tensions in the camp.

Presenting duo Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly revealed that a luxury beach BBQ is up for grabs, which will take place away from the jungle.

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The news was delivered during Wednesday’s (16 November) show, which saw Boy George express his growing dissatisfaction with his campmates, particularly voicing his displeasure with Scarlette Douglas and Matt Hancock’s growing friendship.

Douglas had further irritated the Culture Club singer earlier in the day when she questioned him about his criminal conviction and time in prison. Boy George, real name George Alan O’Dowd, was convicted of assault and false imprisonment in 2008.

But what did George say about his trial and time spent behind bars? Here is everything you need to know.

What did Boy George say about his trial?

(Photo: ITV)(Photo: ITV)
(Photo: ITV)

When campmate Scarlette Douglas brought up his jail stint and court case during Wednesday’s show, George was not impressed, claiming it was “inappropriate” for the presenter to mention it.

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George was convicted of assault and false imprisonment in 2009 after he handcuffed Norwegian male model and sex worker Audun Carlsen to a wall. He was also accused of beating Carlsen with a metal chain during the “psychotic episode,” an element of the story George continues to deny.

George was sentenced to 15 months in jail but was released with an ankle monitor after four months due to good behaviour. He sought treatment for substance abuse following the incident, having admitted to being high on cocaine at the time of the attack, and has remained drug-free since.

Douglas asked: “What happened with you BG and some guy in handcuffs and a radiator? I don’t know the story, I just heard radiator, handcuffs…”

“That’s not true,” George responded, “no radiators.”

”Oh, just handcuffs”, quipped Douglas. George said: “Handcuffs is true but the radiator bit wasn’t true, but thanks for bringing it up.”

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Douglas claimed she was only mentioning the case as she assumed it was likely a false story: “I don’t even know what the full story was,I just remember hearing handcuffs and radiator.”

‘Good job I know what the full story was’

George replied: “Good job I know what the full story was. The best way to explain my thing, Scarlette, if I beat someone up there would be photographs. And there were none, because it didn’t happen.

“So when you beat someone up, the first thing the police do is take a photograph and they show them in court. There were no photos because I didn’t do that. But I did do one thing. I did handcuff him, yeah.

“Because I’d handcuffed the guy I’d already assaulted him. So, when I said ‘I did it’, I thought, ‘I’ll tell the truth, they’ll let me go home’. I went to prison for four months. I was on tag for four months as well.”

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Douglas then asked what the prison experience was like, to which George replied by saying, “the clothes were quite similar to this.

“They also thought I was going to be a total nightmare. And when I wasn’t… they literally thanked me when I left.”

He added: “Sometimes I think, do I want to explain it? I know the truth. I also know, if I’d done what I was accused of doing, I don’t think I’d be working. I don’t think I’d ever have come back from it. That was a slightly tabloid exaggerated scene.”

How did George respond to being questioned?

Speaking more candidly to the Bush Telegraph after the discussion, George said, “it was inappropriate what [Douglas] did, actually.

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“Scarlette blatantly talked about my court case. I thought she shouldn’t have said what she said to me. And I thought I handled it really well as it’s a big sore point for me when people say things like that.”

Some have argued that George was describing the way the subject matter was brought up as “inappropriate”, rather than the subject matter itself.

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