Boy George hits back anti-Israel campaigners who have criticised him for taking part in Eurovision
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Boy George has hit back at anti-Israel campaigners who criticized him for entering Eurovision after song contest bosses refused to ban the country from competing.
The Culture Club singer teamed up with Italian singer Senhit to represent San Marino at the competition next month.
Eurovision was at the center of controversy amid growing calls to block Israel’s performance, but bosses decided in December that the country could compete.
This move led to Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Slovenia withdrawing from the competition, and the countries scrambled to register.
And now Boy George, 64, has broken his silence on those who criticized him for taking part.
Speaking ahead of the annual London Eurovision Party on Sunday, he said: ‘I have a lot of Jewish friends that I’ve had since I was 15 or 16.
Boy George has hit back at anti-Israel campaigners who criticized him for taking part in Eurovision after song contest bosses refused to ban the country from competing
The Culture Club singer teamed up with Italian singer Senhit (pictured) to represent San Marino at next month’s competition.
‘Are people asking me, as a principled person, to turn my back on my Jewish friends? This won’t happen, it will never happen.
‘I’ve been wearing the Jewish star since the beginning of my career. Go back and look at the pictures of the Culture Club. I am very committed to the Jewish people. I certainly don’t have to be loyal to Israel. I don’t have much of an opinion on this.
‘But the job of music is to unite people.’
Regarding Ireland’s withdrawal from the competition, he added: ‘Ireland is my mother’s homeland. I hope they’re not too angry. But if so, that’s out of my control.’
The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Vienna, Austria, after JJ won the Grand Final in Basel, Switzerland with the song Wasted Love.
More than 1,000 artists from the entertainment industry, including Karma Chameleon’s singer, have signed an open letter supporting Israel’s continued participation in Eurovision.
This came in response to international campaigns calling on the European Broadcasting Union to ban the event.
Speaking to the Daily Mail he said: ‘I have a lot of Jewish friends that I’ve had since I was 15 or 16. Are people asking me, as a principled person, to turn my back on my Jewish friends? ‘This won’t happen, it will never happen’
The letter was organized by the Creative Community for Peace, a pro-Israel advocacy group, and signed by the likes of Dame Helen Mirren, Mila Kunis, Amy Schumer and Selma Blair.
‘We believe that unifying events such as song contests are crucial to helping bridge our cultural differences and uniting people of all backgrounds through a common love of music,’ the signatories wrote.
They added that they were ‘shocked and disappointed’ by calls to boycott Israel ‘for responding to the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust’.
The 70th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Vienna, Austria, after JJ won the Grand Final in Basel, Switzerland with the song Wasted Love.
