Boy George Dishes on Madonna: 'She's Too Full of Herself to Mention Me'

In his new memoir ‘Karma’ he talks about Madonna’s concerts, his love for her music and their conflicts over the years

“Every gay man loves Madonna and there’s no gayer than me,” Boy George writes in his new book, Karma: My Autobiography.

She adds: “Her fans always try to defend her when I make a joke or joke. They mostly miss the point.”

The singer doesn’t hold back when he talks about the many details he says the star snubbed him (not to mention the cease and desist when Culture Club covered Madonna’s enduring hit “Vogue”), but he’s also clear – he’s checking his own attitude, the way he fame can affect a person and how a star’s public persona differs from their private life.

“I love her music and I love Madonna and I love all the people I’ve written about,” he tells PEOPLE. “I guess when you write stuff about other artists, you remember that maybe there were times in your life when you weren’t friendly to everyone you met.”

The two singers have had problems in the past

Boy George.

Rick Kern/WireImage

In the book, George describes the first time he met Madonna as a case of mistaken identity.

“This is where Madonna allegedly met me, and I was a bitch,” he writes. “She describes me as Westwood from head to toe.” But he notes that at the time he wore exclusively Sue Clowes. As far as George could remember, it couldn’t have been him.

Another time, the “Karma Chameleon” singer claims that Madonna snubbed him at the opening of the Palladium, the then-new New York club of Steve Rubell, who also founded Studio 54. “Madonna arrived with Sean Penn and pretended she didn’t see me,” he writes.

The pop icon also allegedly ignored George’s friends, which did not earn him her reputation. After meeting her and giving him her hand, Madonna once said to George’s friend, “Ugh, I don’t know where that was.” He replied: ‘With me all night.’ I told him he should have stuck it in her eye,” George writes in his memoirs.

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But George doesn’t hold back his appreciation for the “Like a Prayer” singer’s music, despite their turbulent past.

“Madonna is everything it says on the tin, but she adds new ingredients every day,” he writes. “I know for a fact that she’s too full of herself to even mention me. She once said, ‘Boy George was mean to me in the ’80s and he’s still mean.’ To be fair, I didn’t really get a chance.”

He’s said out loud that he likes some of her records and jokes, “Not knowing anything about her, I’d guess she’d have a problem with the word ‘some.’ … I have a sense of humor, I don’t think Madonna does, despite the clothes she wears ( LOL).”

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George tries to be better – to himself and to others

Boy George performs with Culture Club in July 2023.

Jason Kempin/Getty Images

When asked about their interactions, George attributed much of it to the difference between the star’s public persona and how they behave in private. Over the years, he said he’s learned to be good not only to his fans, but also to himself.

“Not only is it easier to be kind, it’s better for you,” he says. “I don’t have those situations with the public anymore because I’m just always friendly. And I’m kinder to myself. You’re part of the process.”

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At the end of the day, he says, it all comes down to the person behind the brand. “I love all the drama, you know, pop star behavior. I love watching Madonna. I mean, the Madonna brand is genius,” he writes. “But outside of that, you know, that’s how you act. You know, because you want, as I say in the book, you want your artists to be extraordinarily beautiful and strange and all that, but you also want them to be kind of ordinary.”

And he doesn’t give up on Madonna either. “As Bette and Joan, we should have been friends,” she says. – There is still time.

For more from Boy George, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere now.

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Source: HIS Education