I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Star Boy George has recently celebrated 14 years of sobriety.
The pop icon, 61, has led a troubled past but has turned over a new leaf.
He has been faced with multiple scandals throughout his career, including alcohol and drug addictions.
READ MORE: Boy George shares Culture Club’s original name and almost quit band over Karma Chameleon
While he’s had huge success across the globe, Boy George, whose real name is George Alan O’Dowd, was exposed as a heroin addict in the mid-1980s.
Further drug problems and feuding reportedly led to the demise of his band Culture Club in 1986
(Image: Shutterstock)
However, He later made a career comeback as a solo artist in the late 1980s before reinventing himself as a DJ in the 90s.
In 2003, Boy George moved to America when his autobiographical musical Taboo made its way onto Broadway.
His previous drug problems came to haunt him in 2005 when he was arrested in New York on suspicion of possessing cocaine.
(Image: PA)
The charge was eventually dropped but the singer-songwriter was given community service in 2006 after pleading guilty to falsely reporting a burglary at his apartment in NYC.
He was ordered to sweep rubbish from the street for a week as part of his duties.
The Karma Chameleon hitmaker hit rock bottom in December 2008 when he was convicted for the assault and false imprisonment of make sex worker Audun Carlsen.
(Image: PA)
It was reported at the time that Boy George was battling a £400-a-day heroin habit at the time, something which he addressed on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories in 2015.
Mr Carlsen said he was forced into handcuffs by the musician and another man before he was dragged across the floor, beaten and attached to a large bolt no the wall.
(Image: PA)
He managed to free himself and Boy George was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for the attack of “gratuitous violence” and was released after just four months.
In 2018, the pop star marked a decade of sobriety and reflected on his new life in an interview with Australian radio station Nova.
He said: “Obviously when you’re in it, it’s only when you get quality clean time, as you know, you go, ‘Oh wow, how did I do that? How the f**k did I do 10 years?'”
(Image: James Gourley/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
The reality star added: “But I would say everything good in my life is because I’m clean and I’m able to really enjoy what I do in a way I couldn’t before.”
In 2012, Boy George explained that practicing Nichiren Buddhism was the secret behind his sobriety.
Fans have watched the TV personalty meditate during his time in the I’m A Celebrity jungle.
He has also adopted a raw vegan diet since 2014.
Boy George has credited his family with helping him beat his drugs and alcohol addictions.
He previously told The Mirror: “I’m very lucky that I’ve got a pretty good family who have always confronted me when I’ve got out of control,’ he said.
“So I invest a lot of work into my sobriety, into staying clean. I’m not prepared to give that up for anything or anyone.”
I’m A Celebrity airs nightly on ITV and ITV Hub
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
