Boy George WDYTYA

[derxa]

Who's watching?
I love George.

I stupidly started it, I thought mentioning it on page 1 would get it over with.

I never meant for everyone he's ever had contact with to be involved.

@doubleshotespresso again you're trying to minimise and compare Boy George's serious crime to a relationship. He's a sex offender. He went to prison for 15 months for a violent sexually motivated crime. The "what did you expect" argument has been used against women for years and is classic victim blaming. The thread Haag turned out this way because I and others don't believe it's appropriate for sex offenders to have a paid career in the entertainment industry. I can think of very few people who commit sex offences and still get paid tv work afterwards. The two who spring to mind are people who are universally despised on mumsnet threads so I'm quite shocked to see how much BG's behaviour has been downplayed and excused here

Captain no worries, I am baffled how it is universally agreed that the sexual history of any female is not to be reasonably discussed and yet on this thread it is fine to detail anybody BG has even shared a coffee never mind a bed with. And let's not stop there, let's speculate without any foundation about what happened within each of these encounters.

Bizarre

twatty

I am not blaming the victim, just that of course the risk element involved was abundantly clear. I am sure he would make different decisions today, that is not to blame him at all or indeed excuse what happened. Who would?
We were here discussing a tv programme?

I and others don't believe it's appropriate for sex offenders to have a paid career in the entertainment industry

Another poster here who cannot understand the fawning and love for George O'Dowd.

He went to prison for 15 months for violent sexually motivated crime

I wonder if his victim had been a woman people would be so blasé about it?

And im the first to call out misogyny and anti-woman rhetoric (see FWR!) but there is an awful lot of brushing this persons disturbing behaviour under the carpet and I can’t imagine it would be the case if it had been a woman he had chained and whipped against her will.

@doubleshotespresso "I'm not blaming her, but if she hadn't worn that short skirt, if she hadn't walked alone, If she hadn't went back to his house. I'm sure she would have made different choices". How does that sound? Your post is the absolute definition of victim blaming. I wonder if MNHQ will let it stand because you're talking about a man?

twatty your pretty vile analogy is nowhere near the same is it? "She" you refer to does not at all resemble the victim of BG-This is an apples and oranges scenario.
My post defines this fact, not victim-blaming, but I see it was an easy shot from your point of view, nice try but no.....

I have no idea what the stance of MNHQ would be, but if your last comment was designed to intimidate me into agreement with yourself via some thinly-veiled self-appointed school prefect style, think again. I wonder what their stance is on the bullying of posters?

@doubleshotespresso you don't have to agree with me but just because the victim was male and a sex worker makes him no less worthy of sympathy and no more responsible for what happened to him. He's the victim. The courts agreed given the sentence which reflects a serious crime being committed

Bullying?! It’s debate Espresso. And I completely agree with Twatty

Some of the excusing of BG on this thread is baffling. I assume some posters would be absolutely fine and think BG was still such a delight if this happened to their son / brother / friend then.

There is distinguishing at its highest level on here.

I know many, many women who still support their husband's and
Would always do so yet they are victims of abuse and domestic violence.
Are they lying because of this?
You have no idea what an abusive relationship is if you think all victims simply walk away.
I'm sick and tired of hearing this bullshit. So what if generations back his family suffeted, guess what mine did too.

He did have a good voice but don't brush under the carpet what he is.

Distinguishing = victim blaming.

Personally (and I don't watch anything he's on or has been on in recent years) I think many people underestimate drug addiction and the life style that goes with it and the types of people that you mix with and the effects of long term drug use on mental health and well being. It's clear that BG had a massive drug problem and was addled with paranoia and all the things that go with this lifestyle. Having had a family member behave similarly, they are quite literally a different person on drugs to off drugs.
I'm not making excuses but if BG served his time and had cleaned up, he may not day to day be a depraved sex pest, his behaviour and choices may well have been fuelled by coke and god knows what other drugs.
Fair play to him for turning his life around. People have every right to dislike him, but anyone who manages to turn their life around to that degree, I have a bit of time for.
I'm not getting involved in his employment on tv, but can only assume he worked hard to get back to that point and someone felt like trusting him.
It's not much different to Ant McPartlin and his issues.

By the way, he’s not and never has been a sex offender.

Agree fluffy. I've got zero knowledge of, nor interest in, BG or his music but an interest in social history and genealogy so I watched the programme. Addiction and the varied effects of assorted drugs are great personality distorters and lead to mental and physical chaos no matter who you are. Anyone who has freed themselves from these horrors has made a great effort. This does not minimise any crime committed. However I believe that his past relationships and the family history of siblings still living, should not have a place here and are salacious gossip worthy of a tabloid newspaper.

southeastdweller

If your daughter had been tied naked to a bed and beaten, would you not see that as a sexual assault?

"By the way, he’s not and never has been a sex offender."

The apologists out in force, I see!

If he’s a sex offender, then why wasn’t he put on the sex offender register?

He was actually charged with false imprisonment.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7832565.stm

It's not much different to Ant McPartlin and his issues.

I missed Ant McPartlin handcuffing someone to a bed and beating them up?

I am not sure they can be compared. Ant McPartlin could have killed somebody by getting into a car while over the limit.

There is a growing list of slebs with criminal records (and even ones that haven't) that can't be mentioned on MN any more.

Given the attitude and minimising going on here by some, how much courage do you think it must take for a sex worker to actually go to the police! Bearing in mind that sex work is actually legal. However, many abusers bank on the fact that vulnerable people in the sex industry won’t report their abusers, due to the stigma of this work and some of police’s handling of such complaints. This is why Boy George thought he could get away with this particular attack too. Others, younger and more vulnerable did not go to the police. Several years back, I worked with male sex workers and he was circulated on the dangerous client black list. This isn’t youthful indiscretion but the actions of someone who felt untouchable and is a narcissist. That’s the real him, not the faux modest show he puts up in public. When someone slips their public mask and shows you how they treat those more vulnerable, that’s who they really are.

I am not sure they can be compared. Ant McPartlin could have killed somebody by getting into a car while over the limit.

No, drink-driving could result in killing someone, but the intent is presumably not "let's go kill someone".

Whereas falsely imprisoning someone and assaulting them, you kind of deliberately set out to do.

I still think he's done a great job of turning his life around