Boy George mourns death of mother Dinah
The Culture Club singer was at his mother's bedside holding her hand when she passed away.
Watch: Boy George announces death of his mother
Boy George is "devastated" following the death of his mother Dinah O'Dowd at the age of 84.
The Culture Club singer — real name George O'Dowd — was at his mother's bedside holding her hand when she passed away on Monday, 13 March, 2023.
George's manager PK said in a statement: "I am very sad to confirm the news of The passing of Boy George’s beloved mother Dinah. George is devastated as are the family.
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"They were all by her bedside when she passed and George was holding her hand. He wants me to extend his deep gratitude to the huge out pouring of love and support he is receiving and whilst he can’t respond he feels grateful and the messages help.
"George and his family would politely now request some privacy to be able to grieve and come to terms with their heartbreaking loss."
The Karma Chameleon singer has four brothers and one sister.
The 61-year-old pop star opened up on his close relationship with his mother during his time on ITV reality show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! last year.
George struggled to contain his anger with fellow campmate, former health secretary Matt Hancock, as he revealed he had been unable to visit his mother in hospital during the government's COVID lockdown
The Do You Really want To Hurt Me singer said on the show: “You know, at the beginning of the pandemic my mum was in hospital. I wasn’t allowed to see her. I thought she was going to die. I was tweeting Greenwich hospital going, ‘Please look after my mum.’ I used my name, I was like ‘Please look after my mum.’ And they did, she was fine…
"I feel like, I don’t want to be sitting here like I’m having fun with him. It’s difficult for me because, you know, I had something happened, if my mum had gone, I wouldn’t be here now. I would have gone when he walked in.”
He added: “If I had lost my mum, I would go. And I feel a little bit selfish, you know, just kind of… everyone’s so nice to him and I was like Jesus, what are we going to do? I don’t want to spoil this experience for myself."
In 2020 George revealed his mother had been hospitalised with "heart or lung" problems and asked fans to pray for her.
He later revealed she had been released after two days and was doing well, adding that her illness was "not corona related."
The singer's father Jeremy died in 2003 and George has spoken about witnessing his father abuse his mother during their marriage.
In 2017, he told Piers Morgan's Life Stories how he had witnessed his mother's attempt to take an overdose.
He said: "She took pills. I remember sort of keeping her awake and not really understanding what had happened."
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Speaking about her abusive marriage he said: 'I used to tell my mum to leave my dad when I was like nine.
