Boy George is entering I’m A Celeb but we can’t forget his abuse conviction

Is ITV ignoring the issue?

Matt Hancock is getting a lot of backlash for entering the jungle while the UK is enduring a cost of living crisis, not to mention his antics during the Covid lockdowns - so why are we acting as if it's worse than what Boy George has done? Boy George was announced as the biggest star to be entering this year's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, but his past cannot be forgotten no matter how fun and quirky he may come across as on screen. And I'm not talking about a cheating scandal during lockdown, George's background is subsequently worse and extremely dangerous to be brushed aside for the sake of a TV series. When it comes to Boy George's history with violence, we have to go back to 2007 when the singer assaulted and falsely imprisoned Audun Carlsen, a Norwegian model and sex worker. He had come to George's home under the pretence there would be a photography session but upon their second meeting, George handcuffed Carlsen to a wall fixture, with some reports claiming it was a radiator, and then beat him with a metal chain. [caption id="attachment_566572" align="alignnone" width="2048"] Boy George at his sentencing in 2009. [/caption] After being arrested for the assault, George claimed he used his long term drug use as a defence and on 16 January 2009 he was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Serving some time at HM Prison Pentonville in London but was then transferred to HM Prison Highpoint North in Suffolk. After serving only four months of his sentence, George was released on good behaviour in May 2009 but was required to wear an ankle monitor and submit to a curfew for the remainder of it. While his horrific crime seems to be dismissed by popular reality shows now like I'm A Celeb and The Voice Australia where he was a judge, his request to appear on the final series of Celebrity Big Brother was turned down by the Probation Service as he was still completing his sentence. This means that it was the justice system that put the stop to it, and not the world of reality TV, as they were happy to take him on the show despite the events of a year previous. When it comes to George heading on I'm A Celeb this year, it turns out that not only do the producers not care about his harmful past, but they are actually giving him special treatment. Following the news that he is leading the line up, pictures were released of the singer along with the other campmates but he was dressed differently. According to Metro, the reason he has a different hat and polka dots on his shirt is because he asked for it. While this is likely the case, he is noticeably getting special treatment and when you compare this to his background, questions need to be raised.