I’m A Celeb: Kim Woodburn slams Boy George as a ‘disgusting, disgusting, vile man’
Boy George’s behaviour in the jungle has not impressed Kim Woodburn. (Getty Images/Envato)
TV celebrity Kim Woodburn has condemned Boy George as a “disgusting, disgusting, vile man” in a searing op-ed in which she described getting “bored sick” of the latest series of I’m a Celeb.
The How Clean Is Your House? host and former I’m a Celeb contestant described Boy George as “two-faced” for eating food politician Matt Hancock won, after airing his dislike of him in the opinion piece for Metro UK.
“I’ll tell you something my love, when the bag comes down at night with all the food, have you ever heard one of them say: ‘I am not eating Matt Hancock’s food,'” she wrote.
“No. They stuff their guts. Not one of them that moans about him has got the courage of their own convictions.”
She added that she was “fed up” with Hancock being voted to complete several Bushtucker Trials, adding, “for God’s sake execs… You’re failing us miserably with this Matt Hancock punishment.”
Boy George and Matt Hancock faced off in the I’m A Celeb eating challenge. (ITV)
Woodburn also used the piece to lay into contestant Boy George, referencing his 2009 assault conviction before calling him “disgusting” for “looking down” on Hancock.
“Boy George is a washed-up entertainer who’s desperately trying to recoup his career,” she said.
“Boy George, you were jailed. It was a 15-month sentence of which you served four in prison. You tied a man up and you assaulted him dear. You disgusting, disgusting, vile man and you have the nerve to look down on our politician.”
Despite the explosive op-ed slamming many current I’m A Celeb contestants, Woodburn added that she “couldn’t say a wrong word about” fan-favourite Lioness Jill Scott.
I’m a Celeb execs have been criticised for casting Boy George in the jungle, after he was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2009 for attacking Norwegian model Audun Carlsen.
The singer was convicted of assault and false imprisonment after being found guilty of handcuffing Carlsen to a radiator and beating him with a metal chain.
‘The wrong message’
Carlsen himself spoke out about Boy George’s casting in the reality TV show, arguing that platforming him after the sentence “sends the wrong message”.
Carlsen told the Mirror: “I think giving him this sort of platform and a record fee sends the wrong message to survivors of violence and abuse and is plain wrong.”
Since the attack in 2007, Carlsen, now 43, claimed he has spent 10 years in therapy and has been diagnosed with PTSD.
“I still see the monster that he is every time I see him. He hasn’t changed,” he said.
“I’m not going to watch I’m a Celeb, and I love that show… when it gets scary he can say: ‘I’m a celebrity, get me out of here!’ I couldn’t do that when I was chained to his wall.”
A spokesperson for Boy George told the Mirror: “George went to jail for four months willingly after openly confessing to false imprisonment during a psychotic break 15 years ago whilst in the midst of a well-documented drug problem.
“Not only has he been a pillar of society ever since, but he also remains sober to this day… Everyone is entitled to a second chance and George has certainly earned it.”
