Boy George reveals he's on Mounjaro for weight loss in new memoir: 'Isn't everyone?'
Boy George is not shying away from controversial topics in his new book, "Karma: My Autobiography."
In the memoir, out Tuesday (Mango Publishing, 296 pp.), the English pop singer, 62, comes across as if he's jotting down his stream of consciousness as he opens up about celebrity feuds and his weight loss journey, which has entailed using Mounjaro, a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes that is also prescribed for weight loss.
"I know I don't enjoy being overweight and it's something I really want to deal with," George confesses. "I have struggled with my weight most of my life and being under public and media scrutiny doesn’t help."
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"I love food and I can’t control my appetite, but I think I have finally got it under control," the Culture Club frontman writes. "Well, I'm on Mounjaro. Isn’t everyone? Trust me anyone who was fat last year and is now skinny is on the wonder drug."
The singer discusses seeking self-control by embracing fasting and giving up dairy and wheat "for about the millionth time." He writes, "I have done every diet and bought every useless piece of plastic on the market to try and get in shape. The less I eat the better I feel."
Several years ago, George got "a tummy tuck" in order "to get rid of excess skin" after losing nearly 100 pounds through a metabolic balance diet and called the procedure "the most painful thing" he has ever done.
"I went on tour straight after with Cyndi Lauper with the blood bag attached," he wrote. "When anyone asks about my scar I say I had twins by Caesarean."
Boy George hasn't gotten Botox but received hair transplants, fixed his teeth
After detailing his dieting practices and tummy tuck experience, Boy George discusses the cosmetic procedures he has and hasn't undergone.
"It's time to confess I had three hair transplants around 2015-2018 – two in Ireland and a final one in LA – and the weird thing is no one remembers I was bald as a shaved badger," he writes.
He also admits that "getting my teeth done has changed my life" and writes, "Even though people say they preferred my old teeth, my response is, 'Give me your address and I'll send them to you.'"
However, "I've never had Botox, though, and I might be the only person in show business with my own face," he writes. "I'm not frightened of getting old and I think I’ve grown into myself. It might seem weird to say I feel sexier but I actually do. I used to joke over the years, 'Sexy at 60.' That was my ambition."
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Boy George remembers 'awkward' interaction with Janet Jackson in the 1980s
"I know for a fact I'm never going to be best friends with Janet Jackson or Naomi Campbell. She might be furious to hear it but at least she'll call me," George writes.
Though he loves "so many of Janet Jackson's records," he describes why the two aren't necessarily on good terms, given a handful of experiences he's had with the iconic singer and dancer starting with when they met on the set of the '80s show "Solid Gold."
"When it comes to me and Janet, let's wait a while," he writes. "I walked up to Janet backstage without my face on and said, 'Oh, I love your new song. She wasn't friendly and didn't try to be. But I just walked off and got myself into my best 'Boy George' and was walking around backstage to make sure I was seen by everyone."
He continues, "One of her crew approached me with a video camera and said, 'Will you record a message for Janet?' So I did. 'Next time you meet someone, be nice,' I said."
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George remembers later being invited into her dressing room, where Jackson said she hadn't recognized him. "And I said, 'That makes it worse. Are you saying you would have been nice to me if you knew who I was? What if I'm just a fan?' We parted on awkward terms," George says.
He goes on to describe how he perceived her as looking "straight through me" when he saw her on the BBC program "Top of the Pops" a few years later. In 2019, while performing at the Royal Albert Hall during the British Fashion Awards, George remembers Jackson facing away from him.
"When I looked over to her table she had her back to me and stayed in that position throughout my performance," he alleges.
"I was already fuming with Naomi Campbell because she had asked me to sing for her after she accepted a major award. But she did her speech and then walked off without introducing me," he continues. "I had to walk on like a numpty and sing 'Everything I Own'. Seeing Janet Jackson sitting with her back to me really capped the night off."
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Michael Jackson, Karl Lagerfeld get name-dropped in Boy George's memoir
George muses, "When someone is a bit rude you never get over it, which is an important Post-it note to myself. Be nice. … There are always artists you're going to forgive because you know they are super talented. But being talented doesn't give anyone the right to behave badly or unconsciously."
He admits to not being perfect, though, experiencing his share of "awkward moments" with other artists as well as fans.
George does some name-dropping throughout his book, including other members of the Jackson family. "I loved, loved, loved Michael Jackson. As a performer he was untouchable. I loved his music and some of his antics. He didn't like mine, though. I wish I'd met him," George writes. "I almost did a duet with his daughter, Paris Jackson. She loved the song 'London Calling Paris' but in the end she said no."
Meanwhile, "the late designer Karl Lagerfeld wasn't so friendly. He never was friendly to me." George adds: "He probably thought I was too fat, like he rudely said of Adele. Who knows what he thought? Again, I loved Karl Lagerfeld regardless of what he thought of me. The fact that he ignored me every time I saw him was a bit John Waters. I still think he was major, with his high-collar haughtiness, like an amazing fashion wizard."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Boy George memoir revelations include using Mounjaro, tummy tuck