{"id":720088,"date":"2026-07-31T01:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T01:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/720088\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T01:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T01:28:10","slug":"boy-george-exits-jesus-christ-superstar-after-anti-palestine-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/720088\/","title":{"rendered":"Boy George Exits ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ After Anti-Palestine Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tBoy George<\/a> has withdrawn from the West End Jesus Christ Superstar<\/a> revival just days before he was set to appear in the role of King Herod, apparently as a result of the former Culture Club singer\u2019s recent release of a pro-Israel song that disputes the charge of genocide and calls pro-Palestine supporters \u201csheep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe singer\u2019s exit from the musical revival at the London Palladium was announced on Instagram this afternoon by George\u2019s manager Paul Kemsley, who noted, \u201cGeorge has never been afraid to stand by his personal convictions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAfter careful consideration,\u201d Kemsley writes (see the post below), \u201cI have decided, in my capacity as Boy George\u2019s manager, that he will no longer be appearing in Jesus Christ Superstar. The decision has been made with the utmost respect for the producers, the creative team and the entire company. We are grateful for the professionalism and understanding they have shown throughout and sincerely wish everyone involved every success with the production.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKemsley continues: \u201cWe also recognise that many people purchased tickets in the hope of seeing George perform. To those fans, we offer our sincere apologies for the disappointment this decision may cause, and we are deeply grateful for their continued loyalty and support.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGeorge has never been afraid to stand by his personal convictions, and I have always respected him for that. Equally, I believe it is my responsibility to make decisions that are in the best interests of my artist while also showing respect to others. In this instance, I felt it was right to step aside, allowing the production to remain the focus, while ensuring everyone involved can move forward with mutual respect and goodwill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBoy George was have have played King Herod from August 2-15, one in a rotating cast of performers in the small role. Others playing Herod include Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Simon Russell Beale, Richard Armitage, Layton Williams and Julian Clary; Armitage is expected to fill in for George.<\/p>\n

\n\tEarlier this week, Boy George posted a new song online titled \u201cWe Will Dance Again,\u201d voicing support for Israel\u2019s military action in Palestine. The title comes from an Israeli expression popularized following the October 7 Hamas attack at an Israeli music festival.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe song, which apparently no longer is available online, includes lyrics stating Israeli civilians were murdered \u201cfor the crime of dancing,\u201d and, in a direct address to celebrity supporters of Palestine, \u201cYou condemn, with selective memory\/Musicians holding flags, mouthing like sheep\/Propaganda fueled by the internet feels so weak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe song, which Boy George had posted on his social media accounts along with lyrics in both English and Hebrew \u2014 and with the note that the song was written with the help of AI \u2014 also included the lyric:<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou say genocide, I say war
When you\u2019re attacked, that\u2019s what the army\u2019s for
Does it get ugly? You bet it does
When I know you wanna kill\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Jesus Christ Superstar revival, which has received good reviews and strong box office, stars Sam Ryder as Jesus, Tyrone Huntley as Judas, Desmonda Cathabel as Mary Magdalene and David Thaxton as Pontius Pilate. The Tim Rice-Andrew Lloyd Webber musical began performances June 20 and runs through September 5, with Tim Sheader directing. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boy George has withdrawn from the West End Jesus Christ Superstar revival just days before he was set…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":720089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[121434,96,59,196318,238199,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-720088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-boy-george","tag-entertainment","tag-gb","tag-jesus-christ-superstar","tag-london-west-end","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=720088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/720089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=720088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=720088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=720088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}