Boy George makes false claim on The View, then calls it a "joke"

[soulster]

Does anyone watch this show? I don't, but I just saw this. Looks like the old boy could be in a lot of trouble! Who wants to bet that Prince will sue him for defamation of character, seeing that he doesn't agree with homosexuality?

http://www.inquisitr.com/2532080/boy...ice-producers/



OCTOBER 31, 2015BOY GEORGE’S PRINCE ‘JOKE’ IS MORE HALLOWEEN TRICK THAN TREAT, CLAIMS ‘THE VOICE’ PRODUCERS

PATRICK FRYE

Will Prince have to refer to himself as the “artist formerly known as the guy who slept with Boy George” for now on? While Boy George’s Prince “joke” continues to be spread around the internet as Halloween approaches, the producers of The Voice are scrambling to make certain the world knows this comment was a mere trick. Although Prince has yet to publicly comment on the controversy, it seems everyone is pretty quick to say there is no truth to the idea.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, Boy George celebrated Caitlyn Jenner’s new name during a ceremony and concert.
Now, here is how things went down during The Voice UK. Boy George’s Prince “joke” apparently was part of an one-upmanship game with Paloma Faith over their credentials. Boy George was sitting with his fellow judges, who include Paloma, Will.i.am, and Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs. They were discussing famous musicians with whom they had collaborated in the past, and Boy George threw down the gauntlet by claiming he had sung with the “greatest soul singers in history.”
“I have duetted with some of the greatest soul singers in history including Luther Vandross and Smokey Robinson,” Boy George remarked.
Paloma Faith could not let that statement stand, so she replied, “Well OK, if we’re throwing big soul names out there I’ve performed with Prince.”
This claim led Boy George to bring down the house with a claim about his history with Prince.
“Forget that, darling, I’ve slept with Prince,” he declared.
Reports say this quip threw the crowd into a “frenzy.”
“We just couldn’t believe what he had come out with — and the guys in the gallery were beside themselves,” a production team source said, according to The Sun. “The crowd went absolutely wild because they thought they had just witnessed a massive celebrity exclusive. The other judges thought it was brilliant, particularly Will.i.am.”
Both the crowd and the judges were shocked by this statement, but that did not stop Will.i.am from giving Boy George an endless string of high-fives. But not everyone was ecstatic, since representatives for The Voice UK quickly tried to squash the “Boy George slept with Prince” chatter.
One witness to Boy George’s “joke” said the producers quickly spoke to him about the issue, and all of the sudden he claimed he was not being serious.

“After that, Boy George started backtracking saying he hadn’t really slept with Prince and that in reality, he just had his poster on his wall. But as far as the crowd were concerned the cat was already out of the bag.”

Over on social media, many seem to believe that Boy George’s Prince claim is in fact the truth [[although, it is hard to tell when people are being serious on Twitter).

Boy George claims he slept with Prince and now I can’t stop picturing the trail of clothes that led to the bed.
— Catrin [[@KittyCostanza) October 30, 2015

Perhaps due to this reaction, representatives for the show are continuing to try to stamp out the idea that Boy George slept with Prince. According to Uproxx, the producers shot down earlier reports that The Voice stopped in the middle of the show because of Boy George’s joke. In addition, they are stressing that the claim was never intended to be serious at all.
“He just went, ‘Oh darling, I’ve slept with him.’ He went on to say that he had Prince posters on his wall as a kid. He was never being serious,” said one representative.
Do you think Boy George was really joking when he declared that he slept with Prince?

Boy George Shocks Audience: “I Slept With Prince” – More at: https://t.co/QSSw0GlDY7pic.twitter.com/ZcTLTtzMkR
— Queerty [[@Queerty) October 31, 2015

[Roberta75]

Does anyone watch this show? I don't, but I just saw this. Looks like the old boy could be in a lot of trouble! Who wants to bet that Prince will sue him for defamation of character, seeing that he doesn't agree with homosexuality?

http://www.inquisitr.com/2532080/boy...ice-producers/



OCTOBER 31, 2015BOY GEORGE’S PRINCE ‘JOKE’ IS MORE HALLOWEEN TRICK THAN TREAT, CLAIMS ‘THE VOICE’ PRODUCERS

PATRICK FRYE

Will Prince have to refer to himself as the “artist formerly known as the guy who slept with Boy George” for now on? While Boy George’s Prince “joke” continues to be spread around the internet as Halloween approaches, the producers of The Voice are scrambling to make certain the world knows this comment was a mere trick. Although Prince has yet to publicly comment on the controversy, it seems everyone is pretty quick to say there is no truth to the idea.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, Boy George celebrated Caitlyn Jenner’s new name during a ceremony and concert.
Now, here is how things went down during The Voice UK. Boy George’s Prince “joke” apparently was part of an one-upmanship game with Paloma Faith over their credentials. Boy George was sitting with his fellow judges, who include Paloma, Will.i.am, and Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs. They were discussing famous musicians with whom they had collaborated in the past, and Boy George threw down the gauntlet by claiming he had sung with the “greatest soul singers in history.”
“I have duetted with some of the greatest soul singers in history including Luther Vandross and Smokey Robinson,” Boy George remarked.
Paloma Faith could not let that statement stand, so she replied, “Well OK, if we’re throwing big soul names out there I’ve performed with Prince.”
This claim led Boy George to bring down the house with a claim about his history with Prince.
“Forget that, darling, I’ve slept with Prince,” he declared.
Reports say this quip threw the crowd into a “frenzy.”
“We just couldn’t believe what he had come out with — and the guys in the gallery were beside themselves,” a production team source said, according to The Sun. “The crowd went absolutely wild because they thought they had just witnessed a massive celebrity exclusive. The other judges thought it was brilliant, particularly Will.i.am.”
Both the crowd and the judges were shocked by this statement, but that did not stop Will.i.am from giving Boy George an endless string of high-fives. But not everyone was ecstatic, since representatives for The Voice UK quickly tried to squash the “Boy George slept with Prince” chatter.
One witness to Boy George’s “joke” said the producers quickly spoke to him about the issue, and all of the sudden he claimed he was not being serious.

“After that, Boy George started backtracking saying he hadn’t really slept with Prince and that in reality, he just had his poster on his wall. But as far as the crowd were concerned the cat was already out of the bag.”

Over on social media, many seem to believe that Boy George’s Prince claim is in fact the truth [[although, it is hard to tell when people are being serious on Twitter).

Boy George claims he slept with Prince and now I can’t stop picturing the trail of clothes that led to the bed.
— Catrin [[@KittyCostanza) October 30, 2015

Perhaps due to this reaction, representatives for the show are continuing to try to stamp out the idea that Boy George slept with Prince. According to Uproxx, the producers shot down earlier reports that The Voice stopped in the middle of the show because of Boy George’s joke. In addition, they are stressing that the claim was never intended to be serious at all.
“He just went, ‘Oh darling, I’ve slept with him.’ He went on to say that he had Prince posters on his wall as a kid. He was never being serious,” said one representative.
Do you think Boy George was really joking when he declared that he slept with Prince?

Boy George Shocks Audience: “I Slept With Prince” – More at: https://t.co/QSSw0GlDY7pic.twitter.com/ZcTLTtzMkR
— Queerty [[@Queerty) October 31, 2015

It Was a joke. If Prince sue Boy George then hes humorless and paranoid as well as being a homophobe. Smh. Joan Rivers called Tom Cruise gay in her act for years and got away with it.

Roberta

[Jerry Oz]

Unfortunately, he wouldn't prevail in a lawsuit unless he can show why being considered gay is detrimental. He wasn't accused of committing a criminal act or anything that can seen under the law as unethical. It may be embarrassing, but as Roberta stated, that's more on him or the small minds who would view him negatively if the comment was true.

[jobeterob]

The dagger was inflicted! Good work Jerry.

[marv2]

It Was a joke. If Prince sue Boy George then hes humorless and paranoid as well as being a homophobe. Smh. Joan Rivers called Tom Cruise gay in her act for years and got away with it.

Roberta

She also called Michelle Obama a transvestite and President Obama gay. She died a few weeks later.

[soulster]

Unfortunately, he wouldn't prevail in a lawsuit unless he can show why being considered gay is detrimental. He wasn't accused of committing a criminal act or anything that can seen under the law as unethical. It may be embarrassing, but as Roberta stated, that's more on him or the small minds who would view him negatively if the comment was true.

It is a defamation of character to claim that someone is something they aren't. And, remember that Prince is a Jehovah's Witness. His religion forbids homosexuality. Even long before he converted, he was against it. He refused to sit at a dinner table with his ex-fiance's sister.

This was serious enough to make the producers of The View to stop the taping.

However, you may have a point. Jerry Falwell lost a suit against Larry Flynt in an appeal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustle...ine_v._Falwell

But, as I read the Supreme Court decision, it was based on the believability of the claim. How many people, given Prince's previous persona in the 80s, would believe it's true?

[marv2]

It is a defamation of character to claim that someone is something they aren't. And, remember that Prince is a Jehovah's Witness. His religion forbids homosexuality. Even long before he converted, he was against it. He refused to sit at a dinner table with his ex-fiance's sister.

This was serious enough to make the producers of The View to stop the taping.

However, you may have a point. Jerry Falwell lost a suit against Larry Flynt in an appeal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustle...ine_v._Falwell

But, as I read the Supreme Court decision, it was based on the believability of the claim. How many people, given Prince's previous persona in the 80s, would believe it's true?

Prince is going to do something about it. I guarantee it. We may not hear about it, but he's going to do something.

[marv2]

It Was a joke. If Prince sue Boy George then hes humorless and paranoid as well as being a homophobe. Smh. Joan Rivers called Tom Cruise gay in her act for years and got away with it.

Roberta

You are either extremely uninformed or condone this stuff. Tom Cruise has sued several times over the same thing:

Cruise Sues Porn Star Over Gay Allegations

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=105641

[Jerry Oz]

It is a defamation of character to claim that someone is something they aren't. And, remember that Prince is a Jehovah's Witness. His religion forbids homosexuality. Even long before he converted, he was against it. He refused to sit at a dinner table with his ex-fiance's sister.

This was serious enough to make the producers of The View to stop the taping.

However, you may have a point. Jerry Falwell lost a suit against Larry Flynt in an appeal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustle...ine_v._Falwell

But, as I read the Supreme Court decision, it was based on the believability of the claim. How many people, given Prince's previous persona in the 80s, would believe it's true?

There are two problems with him suing for defamation.
1. How would he quantify his damages? How is he impacted by the statement financially? Besides, who has the burden of proof, him to prove it was a lie or Boy George to prove it wasn't?
2. Will he really want to be deposed and go on record saying why the statement damaged him? He can say his religious beliefs are that homosexuality is a sin and/or a social defect, but he likely will cost himself more than he could win. It's hard to win a case when the reason for it is that a statement hurt your feelings.

He's in a tight space because the Western world is much more accepting of homosexuality than it was even a couple of years ago. His management is going to discourage a lawsuit and let's face it, the entertainment business has long ago accepted gay folks into its ranks. He is still going to need connections that might close in him.

[Roberta75]

It is a defamation of character to claim that someone is something they aren't. And, remember that Prince is a Jehovah's Witness. His religion forbids homosexuality. Even long before he converted, he was against it. He refused to sit at a dinner table with his ex-fiance's sister.

This was serious enough to make the producers of The View to stop the taping.

However, you may have a point. Jerry Falwell lost a suit against Larry Flynt in an appeal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustle...ine_v._Falwell

But, as I read the Supreme Court decision, it was based on the believability of the claim. How many people, given Prince's previous persona in the 80s, would believe it's true?

Prince would be be a fool to take any action as a judge would toss it out of court. its a joke Boy george made and everybody knows its a joke and If Prince is as homophobic as you say he is ill never ever buy any more of his music.

Roberta

[Roberta75]

There are two problems with him suing for defamation.
1. How would he quantify his damages? How is he impacted by the statement financially? Besides, who has the burden of proof, him to prove it was a lie or Boy George to prove it wasn't?
2. Will he really want to be deposed and go on record saying why the statement damaged him? He can say his religious beliefs are that homosexuality is a sin and/or a social defect, but he likely will cost himself more than he could win. It's hard to win a case when the reason for it is that a statement hurt your feelings.

He's in a tight space because the Western world is much more accepting of homosexuality than it was even a couple of years ago. His management is going to discourage a lawsuit and let's face it, the entertainment business has long ago accepted gay folks into its ranks. He is still going to need connections that might close in him.

True true true Jerry.

fondly,

Roberta

[soulster]

There are two problems with him suing for defamation.
1. How would he quantify his damages? How is he impacted by the statement financially? Besides, who has the burden of proof, him to prove it was a lie or Boy George to prove it wasn't?

It doesn't matter how he was impacted. Like I said, defamation of character would be the charge, but, again, point to the reversal decision on Falwell vs. Flynt.

He's in a tight space because the Western world is much more accepting of homosexuality than it was even a couple of years ago. His management is going to discourage a lawsuit and let's face it, the entertainment business has long ago accepted gay folks into its ranks. He is still going to need connections that might close in him.

First, as far as I know, like many other artists, Prince manages himself. Two, it doesn't matter what U.S. society accepts these days. It's about an unwanted attribute to one's character.

[marv2]

It doesn't matter how he was impacted. Like I said, defamation of character would be the charge, but, again, point to the reversal decision on Falwell vs. Flynt.


First, as far as I know, like many other artists, Prince manages himself. Two, it doesn't matter what U.S. society accepts these days. It's about an unwanted attribute to one's character.

If it gets as far as a lawsuit. Prince and his lawyers will forget that Boy George claimed he was joking and go for his jugular! Prince most likely claim that what Boy George said would or could cause people to look at Prince as a fraud, a freak! I mean, how do you go from doing it with Vanity, Apollonia, Sheila E. and whole host of hotties to having sex with Boy George? LOL!!!!! This could also cost him record sales among a segment of the population.

[Jerry Oz]

The legal definition of defamation is below. As I stated, it will be hard to prevail based on the fact that he would have to a) quantify his damages, which would be extremely hard to do [[how do you attribute poor record sales to a lie about your sexuality rather than a poor album?) and b) show that someone stating that he engaged in consensual sexual activity is an assault on his character? If the following definition holds, it means that he has to prove that a known homosexual intended to hurt his reputation by calling him gay. That won't be easy because Boy George is proudly gay, so how do you show that he intended to damage Prince without also damaging his own reputation?

As Marv said, Prince's reputation is that if a sexual freak, so how many people won't think differently about a man whose lyrics include "I just can't believe all of the things that people say/Is he black or white, is he straight or is he gay?" and "I wanna be your lover/I wanna be your mother and your sister, too"? Forget about the image conjured by the title [[but not the lyrics) of "If I Was Your Girlfriend"?


Defamation

Any intentional false communication, either written or spoken, that harms a person's reputation; decreases the respect,regard, or confidence in which a person is held; or induces disparaging, hostile, or disagreeable opinions or feelingsagainst a person.
Defamation may be a criminal or civil charge. It encompasses both written statements, known as libel, and spokenstatements, called slander.
The probability that a plaintiff will recover damages in a defamation suit depends largely on whether the plaintiff is apublic or private figure in the eyes of the law. The public figure law of defamation was first delineated in new york times v.sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 84 S. Ct. 710, 11 L. Ed. 2d 686 [[1964). In Sullivan, the plaintiff, a police official, claimed that falseallegations about him appeared in the New York Times, and sued the newspaper for libel. The Supreme Court balancedthe plaintiff's interest in preserving his reputation against the public's interest in freedom of expression in the area of political debate. It held that a public official alleging libel must prove actual malice in order to recover damages. The Court declared that the First Amendment protects open and robust debate on public issues even when such debateincludes "vehement, caustic, unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials." A public official or otherplaintiff who has voluntarily assumed a position in the public eye must prove that defamatory statements were madewith knowledge that they were false or with reckless disregard of whether they were false.

[supremester]

No atty would ever pursue such an idiotic lawsuit unless he was being paid to make a fool of himself and Prince.

1) He said he was joking. Hello? That would put an end to any moronic thoughts of lawsuit on such a infantile technicality.
2) He didn't say Prince was gay, he said he had sex with him - they are not the same thing. I had sex with girls in high school when I had to over 40 years ago to keep my social status alive. All my buds wanted to get laid so I had to with girls that wanted to or I'd be suspected. It was creepy every time and I certainly wasn't straight.
3) This has nothing to do with Prince's religion as he breaks other rules within the church openly.
4)IF it's true he refused to sit at a table with someone because they were gay, he should keep his phobic, skinny ass out of The grammys, AMA's and BET Awards as those places are crawling with gays. As are restaurants, malls, recording studios and concerts.
5) There would be no way to show damages as his sales are not constant and only a very, very small sampling of the public would actually not buy music they like because someone made a joke about the musician on TV. Tom Jones doesn't seem to be worried that bigots will stop buying his music if it turns out he's .000000000988% black.
6) I can see future generations looking back and laughing at the small minded nincompoops who, facing a possible WW3 emanating from the middle east, unknown peril due to climate change, population explosion, food & water shortages would even think of making a nothing like this into a news story.

[Jerry Oz]

^^ This. Well put, supremester. ^^

[144man]

Will this be pursued under UK or US law?

If the case is pursued under UK law and the judge takes the view that the remark was a joke, he will be able to dismiss the case if he considers the joke was funny irrespective of its truth.

[Jerry Oz]

That's probably true in either country, 144. In the US, there is implied protection for comedians and satirists to make statements unless there is malice aforethought. You typically are safe unless you put something into a book [[for example) that purports to be true but is demonstrably false and damaging.

[soulster]

If some dude said I slept with him, i'd be filing papers in court.

[marv2]

If some dude said I slept with him, i'd be filing papers in court.

That's what Tom Cruise did. When this story about Boy George was first reported he did not immediately say he was joking. A day later a story was placed in the media where he later stated that he was joking. If someone said you played around outside of your marriage and then claimed that they were joking, is it different than this situation?

[144man]

I don't know. If I said that we had already discussed this issue in bed, would anyone think that I was being serious? Of course they wouldn't.

[Jerry Oz]

Again, people can say a lot of things that can be perceived as exaggeration our jokes about public people [[at least in the US). The Tom Cruise situation involved an allegation that was neither satire or joke, but published as a point of fact. There is a huge distinction.

The other side of the issue involves damages. Tom Cruise can bring multiple producers, casting directors, financiers, etc., who can testify as to how much money he could lose if he's no longer perceived to be a heterosexual leading man by the movie-going public. Prince doesn't sign performance contracts. If his business is record sales, how can be show how many record sales he lost as a result of a statement on an English television show? Record sales go up and down and he is no longer the bankable superstar that he was in the '80s and '90s.

Even with all of these issues, he'd have to show animus on the part of Boy George as the reason he made the statement. He has a right to sue, but he cannot and would not prevail in court.

[soulster]

Oh, so I guess anybody can say what ever they want about anybody else and get away with it.

[marv2]

Oh, so I guess anybody can say what ever they want about anybody else and get away with it.

As long as they make sure they add "It was a joke" at the end! Isn't that what kids do when they get caught bullying other kids?

[supremester]

Where are you getting THAT from? There are conditions in order to protect the courts from being filled with frivolous BS like this very topic.

Lots of celebs have had lots of reasons to sue and didn't bother because you have to prove a lot of things. This case warrants nothing but looking for trouble where there was none. I'll bet anyone any amount that Prince doesnt sue or even threaten to. Send the $$ to ralph, and I'll match it and do the same.

Oh, so I guess anybody can say what ever they want about anybody else and get away with it.

[supremester]

HA!!!!! Perfect!!!!!!!!!! These are not kids playing in a sandbox. LOL...... I can just see Prince suing for being bullied by Boy George!!!!!!!! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!

As long as they make sure they add "It was a joke" at the end! Isn't that what kids do when they get caught bullying other kids?

[Jerry Oz]

Oh, so I guess anybody can say what ever they want about anybody else and get away with it.

Not even close to being true. However, the context of the statement matters. How many people called George W. Bush stupid? Do you think he could sue? Dave Chappell said Rosie O'Donnell wears underwear with a pee hole. Should she sue? It happens all the time and can only be litigated in certain conditions.

[Jerry Oz]

As long as they make sure they add "It was a joke" at the end! Isn't that what kids do when they get caught bullying other kids?

Bullying is a form of intimidation and/or harassment. It is also an intentional act, which satisfies the law's requirement that the statements were made with malicious intent.

What happened on "The Voice" was hardly intimidating, so it is vastly different from bullying. This is a non-issue. Can you imagine Eddie Murphy's "Delirious" if Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Mr. T, and Luther Vandross could sue because of the things he said in the concert?

[Roberta75]

Bullying is a form of intimidation and/or harassment. It is also an intentional act, which satisfies the law's requirement that the statements were made with malicious intent.

What happened on "The Voice" was hardly intimidating, so it is vastly different from bullying. This is a non-issue. Can you imagine Eddie Murphy's "Delirious" if Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Mr. T, and Luther Vandross could sue because of the things he said in the concert?

Excellent points Jerry and im going to add Kathy Griffin constantly refers to John Travolta as Miss Travolta in her act and calls Ryan Seacrest girlfriend in her act and says Barbara Walters is 127 and in a diaper. Its called comedy and every comedian does it. You cant sue for this stuff. What does Prince care if Boy George says he slept with him. Hed never win in court if he was dumb enough to sue boy George.

Roberta

[marv2]

Ok then I guess it's back to the old, more affordable solution. Simply punch the mug in his or her mouth!

[supremester]

Mercifully, THAT kind of barbaric thuggery IS illegal and the punchee would have a clear case against the puncher as would the state.

But that is a fun picture you paint of Prince punching Boy George. LOL. Can you imagine them fighting and both unable to see because their mascara is running??? Love it!

[soulster]

Not even close to being true. However, the context of the statement matters. How many people called George W. Bush stupid? Do you think he could sue? Dave Chappell said Rosie O'Donnell wears underwear with a pee hole. Should she sue? It happens all the time and can only be litigated in certain conditions.

Those Enquirer-type rags you see on the supermarket checkouts say all kinds of libelous things, but few people ever sue only because those trash rags have enough lawyers to keep you tied up in court for decades. Just ask those like Barbra Streisand who have sued them. To date, I think the only person who had the tenacity to stay with it and sue them actually won, and that was Carol Burnett.

Rick James said all kinds of stuff about Prince, except...he's dead now!

[Jerry Oz]

The tabloids can be sued because they purport their content to be factual. They muddy the water by reporting that "a source close to" the celebrity told them the story. If they can present the source, then that is the liable party for legal action.

In most cases, suing the tabloids just adds to their sales, which is why they make habits of poking bears to begin with. Again, the issue is not whether they print lies, but whether they had any malicious intent for doing so. And suing the "source" isn't likely to result in any satisfaction.