Boy George has opened up about his assault conviction in a rare admission - after shutting down conversations about his past in the I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! camp.
The Culture Club singer, 61, served four months of a 15 month jail term for falsely imprisoning male escort Audun Carlsen in 2009.
George said the incident was a wake-up call to change his life and he has been sober ever since.
During his time on I'm A Celeb, George was awkwardly quizzed on his jailing by campmate Scarlette Douglas but refused to go into the details of what happened and scolded the A Place in the Sun host for bringing it up.
In a new interview, George said: "The reason I don't talk about it is it drags it all up.
"I was prosecuted on my own evidence when I told the police I’d handcuffed this guy. My lawyer said, ‘Why did you tell them?’ I thought I’d tell the truth and be allowed home," admitted the Karma Chameleon singer.
“There was naivety but I was on a lot of drugs. I don’t want to hurt the guy. I don’t hate him or wish him any harm," he told the Sun on Sunday.
“I’m like, move on with your life because I have.
“I remember sitting in my cell thinking, ‘You’ve done this and you’ve got to fix it’. And I have."
George said his mum shut down his apologies at the time and told him, 'Don't say sorry - just stay sober,' which he says he has been ever since.
"This is a big moment for me because I'll never discuss this again," George said.
When George was announced for I'm A Celeb in November, Aundun, now 43, said he was still 'haunted' by his ordeal and slammed ITV for giving the singer a platform.
He hit out after George was rumoured to have been paid a record £500,000 for the show, making him the highest paid contestant on the 2022 series.
In an exclusive interview with the Mirror, Aundun said: " Had I been a woman and he did what he did, he would never have been given the platform. It’s hurtful that big organisations like ITV give him that platform.
“I think giving him this sort of platform and a record fee sends the wrong message to survivors of violence and abuse and is plain wrong.”
Boy George said he was high on cocaine and having a psychotic episode at the time of the attack. He pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment and has always denied a court claim that he beat Audun with a chain
The singer has since made several comebacks, including an appearance on singing show The Voice.
During his time on I'm A Celeb, fellow campmate Scarlette took the opportunity to ask George about what happeed.
"What happened with you BG and some guy in handcuffs and a radiator?” she asked.
"That's not true," George swiftly replied.
"Handcuffs is true but the radiator bit wasn’t true, but thanks for bringing it up”, he told the presenter, describing elements of the story as “folklore”.
Heading into the Bush Telegraph, George scathed: "Scarlette blatantly talked about my court case.
“I thought it was inappropriate what she did, actually. I thought she shouldn’t have said what she said to me.
"And I thought I handled it really well as it’s a big sore point for me when people say things like that."
