Berliner Tageblatt - UK singer Boy George pulls out of musical after pro-Israel song backlash

The 65-year-old musician "will no longer be appearing in Jesus Christ Superstar at the London Palladium", his manager Paul Kemsley said on social media.

The singer, whose real name is George Alan O'Dowd, rose to fame in the 1980s as the flamboyant singer of the pop band Culture Club.

This week he released a song supporting Israel and its war in Gaza, with lyrics including "you say genocide, I say war" and "when you're attacked, that's what the army's for".

The title is a phrase used to express solidarity after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on a music festival and other Israeli communities in Israel in which 1,221 people were killed, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

More than 70,000 people were killed in Gaza in Israel's ensuing offensive against the Palestinian militants, according to the territory's health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Since a truce came into effect last October, at least 1,214 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.

Boy George, who was set to star as King Herod in the London musical from August 3-15, said the song was "created using AI" in a social media post.

He said he was inspired to write the song after visiting the Nova exhibition which commemorates victims of the attack at the music festival and is being displayed in London.

"Why not put the word 'genocide' in a song. Why are people suddenly uncomfortable with that word?" George said in a post on Instagram Threads.

"George has never been afraid to stand by his personal convictions, and I have always respected him for that," his manager Kemsley said.

"In this instance, I felt it was right to step aside, allowing the production to remain the focus," he added.

"Jesus Christ Superstar" was opening Friday on a run until September 5. Culture Club is set to go on a UK tour in December.

W.Lapointe--BTB