BY DANIEL KUSNER
Boy George has come a long way. Armed with an unaccredited doctorate in Sass, he began as a scrappy club-kid dropout and emerged into an undeniable pop legend. But he hasn’t abandoned his roots. The former Culture Club vocalist stays busy manning the turntables as a celebrated DJ, simultaneously releasing two new discs: “A Night Out with Boy George” and “Chill-Out Mix.“ As a gender-fluid superstar, his path to fame has always been an amorphous route. Now with Rosie O’Donnell’s help as a producer, he might globally conquer another genre: showtune-laced rock-opera. O’Donnell promises to import Boy George’s autobiographical London stage-musical, “Taboo” and mount a multimillion-dollar Broadway version. Boy George recently added another ingredient to his recipe for success — shifting from soul-infused music to soul food. Last year, he published a cookbook titled “Karma Macrobiotic” (Carroll & Brown). Earlier this week, he answered his London phone in a bubbly mood, speaking in a clipped British accent that raced by faster than a rocket-fueled Astin Martin. A master conversationalist, Boy George does most of the heavy lifting in interviews. Just toss him any question. He catches your drift and flings back clever remarks. Sept. 29 is an auspicious anniversary. That marks the day you were kicked out of high school. Wasn’t that a great day? What was your offense? Being born. And being disobedient. For a year, I tried to get expelled. Then they finally kicked me out. My headmaster’s last words to me were, “You’ll never amount to anything.’ I turned around and said, “Watch me.” You regularly keep an eye on George Michael, who’s now openly gay. What did you think about his recent politically charged single “Shoot the Dog?” I thought it was really bad. It was his “War Song.” When a celebrity officially comes out, they usually go through an evangelical period. And they always overdo it. I’ve seen that with George. He’s appeared at every kind of gay benefit —standing up there like he’s Harvey Milk or something. I think he lives in a cultural bubble. I don’t think he realizes that “Shoot the Dog” was just bad timing. People had been fucking killed. You can’t do that. I was watching the American news. And people were just freaking out over that song. I cringed watching George try to argue his case. I was like, “Honey, stay out of politics. And while you’re at it, stay out of the public toilet.” You recently said that you’d fuck Eminem just to hurt him. And I’d take him by surprise — with no lube. I have a new song called “Intimacy” that’s just like his “Without Me.” But mine’s funnier. Do you want to hear it? Hell yes! See, you were poor. And you were trailer trash. Now you’re living like Elvis, Rolled in cash. Bet your house is real palatial. Hey, pretty boy. Did you enjoy your facial? And that shit’s supposed to calm you down? Why are you so angry? Because you ain’t brown.” Last Wednesday, I designed 500 T-shirts for Moby that said, “Moby for President” on the front and “Eminem for Intern” on the back. Sinéad O’Connor has a new album out — full of traditional Irish folk songs. This weekend marks the 10-year anniversary of when she ripped up the Pope’s picture on “Saturday Night Live.” What did you make of Sinead’s brief affair with lesbianism during the publicity blitz from her last album? I love Sinéad. I think she’s a brilliant singer. But she’s as mad as a box of frogs. And the whole “I’m a lesbian, now I’m a priest.” I love all that because it’s just like Joan Crawford or something. I love the fact that there are mad people in the world. They make the world a more interesting place. But I don’t necessarily agree with everything she says. My mother is Irish. A few years ago, Sinéad was ranting on about the famine in Ireland and getting mixed up with Rastafarians. My mom was watching the telly, and she goes, “Jesus, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. God love her. She’s got all her history mixed right up there.” Speaking of Irish lasses, I hear you are in cahoots with Rosie O’Donnell to bring “Taboo” to Broadway. I like lesbians. And they like me. What’s wrong with that? Is this really going to happen? And do you sanction Rosie’s new lopsided hairdo? I think Rosie is the coolest. She is so fantastic. Such a laugh. She’s just my kind of person. She says how it is. And I love that about her. Rosie complained that you never graced her talkshow. That’s because I was never in America during that time. She asked me to go on. She tried to get me on for years. When she met me, she said, “You bastard! Why didn’t you ever come on my show?” So will this friendship with Rosie bring you and Madonna together at last? Honey, even Bianca Jagger standing naked on the top of the White House couldn’t do that. But we can work on it. I mean, I’m forgiving. Rosie knows I don’t like Madonna. I’ve told her that straight out. I said, “I don’t like her. But if you can convince me otherwise, I’d love to have my opinion changed.” Because there is a part of me that begrudgingly respects Madonna and admires what she’s done. But at the same time, I’ve heard stories about how she’s treated people. I think if you’re beautiful and rich — not that Madonna’s a great beauty.... But if you’re born beautiful or make a lot of money, you have an obligation to be nice to the rest of us. Who are you nice to? Do you have a boyfriend? Of course. What’s his name? Mind your own business. What does he do for a living? He’s an information technologies expert. Older? Younger? Younger. How long has this been going on? Oh, you’re being very freaky today. Mind your own business! You’d rather have a cup of tea than talk about sex? Cups of tea are more reliable than men, that’s for sure. You don’t have to argue to get it in your mouth, do you? You just put the kettle on ... and pour.
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