Róisín Murphy has sparked a furious online row with Boy George by accusing the Culture Club star of belittling her when they first met – two years after almost derailing her career by slamming the use of puberty blockers.
Murphy lashed out at the ’80s pop legend after he used his considerable social media presence to call critics of his pro-trans stance ‘ugly people with ugly souls.’
The singer, real name George O’Dowd, has routinely been targeted by online trolls following his public criticism of JK Rowling and her vastly opposed views on gender ideology.
Taking to X on Monday, the notoriously outspoken singer, 64, fired back at them – but got more than he bargained for when a furious Murphy weighed in among the comments.
Sharing an old photo of himself as a teenager, he raged: ‘I could list a hundred celebrities, artists, that wouldn’t p**s on you if you were on fire, let alone bother responding to lies and bulls**t.
‘Some of my haters are even academics which proves that being able to retain information has zero to do with emotional intelligence.
Boy George (left) was slammed by singer Róisín Murphy (right) on Monday after using his social media presence tp hit back at online trolls
Taking to X, George hit back at those opposed to his pro-stance on trans rights
‘If you think I’m stupid how f**king dumb must you be? Why do all these twats never have a picture of themselves on their profiles? Isn’t it obvious? Ugly people with ugly souls!’
Reposting the comment, Murphy, 52, lashed out by claiming the singer publicly humiliated her when she first entered the music industry with electro-pop group Moloko.
She wrote: ‘You’re just beyond horrible, George. All that nasty, nasty bitchiness is coming back to you.
‘I remember the first time we met in Miami, and the first thing you said to me was, “Oh, you’re not as pretty as I thought you were.” I was young, and you made me feel ashamed in front of a lot of people. Why?
‘You have grifted all these years with such little talent and zero charm. Now, time’s up.’
The scathing response prompted an inevitable flurry of comments from followers, with one adding: ‘He’s not in a position to take the high moral ground with his history.’
Engaging with the post, Murphy wrote: ‘Out prowling.. trying to cancel people, when he’s been allowed to come back from such depravity and cruelty.
‘You’d think he’d be grateful.. but no. He also a total hypocrite, when it comes to “trannies” and “pronouns.”‘
But got more than he bargained for when a furious Murphy weighed in among the comments
Reposting his comment, Murphy responded by calling the singer a ‘grifter with zero talent’ who publicly humiliated her when she first entered the music industry with Moloko (pictured)
The Irish singer threatened to air more lurid allegations about the Culture Club star when she writes her autobiography
She added: ‘There’s more I know about him, don’t I @BoyGeorge? But I’ll save it for the book!’
The posts come just two years after Murphy found herself at the heart of another online storm over comments made about puberty blockers.
Airing her opinions on Facebook, she wrote: ‘Puberty blockers are f*****, absolutely desolate, big pharma laughing all the way to the bank.
‘Little mixed-up kids are vulnerable and need to be protected, that’s just true.’
‘Please don’t call me a terf, please don’t keep using that word against women.’
Terf is an acronym meaning ‘trans-exclusionary radical feminist’, which has come to be regarded by some with gender-critical beliefs as a derogatory term.
The former frontwoman for top ten hitmakers Moloko, who has since had a successful solo career, later issued an apology after suffering an online backlash by Twitter users claiming to be LGBTQ+ allies.
The posts come just two years after Murphy found herself at the heart of another online storm for claiming puberty blockers were f***ed’
Two scheduled performances featuring the singer in London, to coincide with the launch of her fifth solo album Hit Parade, were subsequently axed
The former Moloko frontwoman later issued an apology after suffering an online backlash by Twitter users claiming to be LGBTQ+ allies
She wrote: ‘I have been thrown into a very public discourse in an arena I’m uncomfortable in and deeply unsuitable for.
‘I cannot apologise enough for being the reason for this eruption of damaging and potentially dangerous social-media fire and brimstone.
‘To witness the ramifications of my actions and the divisions it has caused is heartbreaking.
‘I’ve had a personal Facebook account for years. The morning I made these comments I was scrolling and I brought up a specific issue that was only broadly related to the original post.’
In a further tweet, Murphy accused George of ‘depravity and cruelty’ – but did not elaborate
George and huis followers soon responded to her claims on the social media platform
She went on to say she had spent her whole life celebrating diversity and different views.
She continued: ‘I am so sorry my comments have been directly hurtful to many of you.
‘You must have felt a huge shock, blindsided by this so abruptly. I understand fixed views are not helpful but I really hope people can understand my concern was out of love for all of us.’
Two scheduled performances featuring the singer in London, to coincide with the launch of her fifth solo album Hit Parade, were subsequently axed, with supporters branding it an example of cancel culture.
She had been due to play two acoustic shows and take part in two signings at Rough Trade East in London, but these were cancelled at short notice with no reason given as to why.