Boy George Slams Singer Marilyn Over Anti-Trans Posts On X
Boy George has publicly called out fellow ’80s pop icon Marilyn for “siding with hideous transphobes” after Marilyn shared a string of anti-trans content on X (formerly Twitter).
The Culture Club frontman responded directly to a post by Marilyn, real name Peter Robinson, who had shared a video from a right-wing page called Anti Woke Memes. The video featured trans influencer Lilly Contino correcting hospitality staff who had misgendered her.
Oh Marilyn, why are you siding with hideous transphobes? It's all kids of sad and disappointing. If you see someone who isn't pulling off the feminine look to your satisfaction and you get a kick of calling them 'sir' then you are just being cruel. Those who haven't quite got the…
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) February 16, 2026
Marilyn called Contino’s behaviour “NOT cute” adding that “making money from other people’s intentionally caused discomfort and embarrassment” was unacceptable.
Boy George didn’t hold back.
“Oh Marilyn, why are you siding with hideous transphobes? It’s all kinds of sad and disappointing,” he wrote on X on 16 February. “If you see someone who isn’t pulling off the feminine look to your satisfaction and you get a kick of calling them ‘sir’ then you are just being cruel.”
He went further: “Those who haven’t quite got the feminine touch are the ones you need to hug. You should be ashamed of yourself. Right wing nut job.”
This wasn’t a one-off from Marilyn
A look at Marilyn’s recent X activity shows a pattern. On 15 February, he responded to a post from an account called Gay Not Queer, which mocked a trans woman coming out. “Please go back in,” Marilyn replied.
Please go back in 🫣
— Marilyn (@MisterMarilyn) February 15, 2026
Days earlier, on 11 February, he reshared a video criticising Contino and wrote in all caps that being trans was “INSANITY.” He also reshared a post from Libs of TikTok, an account with a well-documented history of targeting LGBTQIA+ people, in which he misgendered Contino.
A complicated history between two icons
Boy George and Marilyn go back decades. Both were central figures in the New Romantic scene in early ’80s London. They were close friends, flatmates, and eventually chart rivals. Marilyn’s debut single Calling Your Name peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart in 1983. Other hits, Cry And Be Free and Baby You Left Me followed. At the height of his fame, Marilyn was known for his androgynous, gender-bending look.
Their relationship has gone through cycles of closeness and conflict. In 2015, Boy George produced some of Marilyn’s new music. The two were photographed together at the launch of Naomi Campbell’s book Naomi in 2016. But they fell out again in 2021 over the still-unreleased Culture Club biopic Karma Chameleon.
Now, with Marilyn’s public alignment with anti-trans accounts and rhetoric, it seems the pair are further apart than ever.
Why this matters
When someone who once broke gender norms for a living turns around and mocks people doing the same thing today, it stings. Marilyn built a career on defying expectations of how men should look and behave. For many, these posts feel like a betrayal of that legacy.
Boy George, who has been vocal in supporting trans people in recent years, clearly sees it that way too.
