The “Karma Chameleon” singer has been known for controversy, but this one may take the cake. Boy George has recently released a controversial pro-Israel track, “We Will Dance Again”. George claims the song was meant to promote peace, but others have publicly disagreed. Martyn Ware of Human League and Heaven 17 has publicly condemned the new track as “an overtly pro-genocide, anti-Palestinian piece of musical propaganda.”
In early August 2026, Boy George threatened to fire any Culture Club members who refuse to perform the song. George took to Instagram to publicly announce this threat, boldly claiming, “There are people in my band who are questioning whether they’ll perform it with me. And those people will be fired.”
George isn’t bluffing, as he’s already parted ways with record label manager Tony Pontius over his refusal to release the controversial song. He also pulled out of his role as King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar. he was slated to appear in the musical at the London Palladium from August 3 to August 15.
The new song directly denies any acts of genocide in the Middle Eastern conflict with the lyrics “You say genocide, I say war.” It also aims at those who have publicly supported Palestine, including fellow artists. George’s reasoning behind his pro-Israel track comes from his visit to the Nova Music Festival Exhibition in London. There he met with people affected by a Hamas-led attack that occurred on October 7, 2023. Boy George has faced significant backlash since independently releasing the song on July 26, 2026, through social media. The controversial song has yet to be released on major streaming platforms.
use of ai on the new track
Another point of controversy is Boy George’s use of AI on the new track. He also addressed this on the same Instagram post. “The truth is if I tried to write ‘We Will Dance Again’ with any musician, they would have got in my way. They would have said: ‘Ooh, you can’t say that, that’s too controversial, you can’t say this, you can’t say that’.”
George also added, “I don’t need gatekeepers, and one of the great things about AI is that it removes all the interference, all the human interference. You see every day on the internet people with opinions. First of all, I wrote that song, the lyrics are mine, the melody is mine.”
“It’s a bit like Elton John writing the music and Bernie Taupin writing the lyrics. That’s what I do with Culture Club, that’s what I do with all the people I work with. Because I don’t play an instrument, that doesn’t make me lazy or make me uncreative. In fact, I think AI has made me more creative.”
Boy George also accused Bandcamp of “bowing to the pressure of antisemitism” for removing the song from their platform. Bandcamp removed the track due to its anti-AI policy.
Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images
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