Boy George assault victim slams singer’s casting on ‘I’m A Celebrity’

Audun Carlsen, the victim in the Boy George 2007 assault case, has slammed ITV for casting George in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here.

Audun Carlsen, who was attacked and cuffed to a wall by singer-songwriter Boy George, has slammed ITV for casting George in the latest instalment of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here. 

In addition to taking issue with giving George a platform despite his action, Carlsen has also expressed displeasure with George’s hefty paycheque for his appearance on the show. According to The Sun, George is set to walk away with $1.4 million AUD, reportedly the largest sum any star on the show has ever been paid. 

Speaking to The Mirror, Carlsen claimed he was still traumatised from his encounter with George in 2007. Carlsen and George met in 2007 when the latter contacted him through a dating website and asked if Carlsen could model for his collection. Carlsen alleged their meet went sideways after he rejected George’s sexual advances, leading to the singer becoming violent. 

Carlsen alleges he was attacked by George and another man: “They jumped on me, kicked, dragged me along the floor. He handcuffed me to the wall and told the man to go, saying he’d deal with me from now on. The guy was there for 20 minutes. I was hooked to the wall for about half an hour. I was shit scared.”

During the subsequent investigation and trial, George admitted that he was under the influence of drugs at the time of the attack and was having a psychotic episode. He insisted, however, that he had never assaulted Carlsen.

Despite pleading not guilty, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison. While he has since been drug-free, George issued a public apology for the incident in 2017 – Carlsen, however, did not feel it was sincere. 

Carlsen told The Mirror: “Had I been a woman and he did what he did, he would never have been given the platform. It’s hurtful that big organisations like ITV give him that platform. 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.”

Carlsen also slammed George’s 2017 apology: “I still see the monster that he is every time I see him. He hasn’t changed. I’m not going to watch I’m A Celeb, and I love that show… Being in there is too easy for him. 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.” 

While both ITV and the star’s team have defended his casting publicly, Carlsen says it doesn’t weigh against the prolonged trauma he has experienced. 

“Every time I see him, I feel it all over again. I have a permanent back injury. Two or three times a year I get a slipped disc. I’ve not used dating sites since.” he said. “I can’t meet anyone because I get too anxious. I get skeptical about people because I don’t know what their intentions are.” 

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