Bad Karma? Boy George Banned in the USA

Boy George Ash Knotek/Snappers/ZUMA Press

Call it tit for tat: Fresh off of the U.K.'s denial of entry to Martha Stewart, the U.S. has banned Boy George from its shores.

Somehow, it doesn't quite feel like a fair trade.

The "Karma Chameleon" purveyor has been refused a visa for the U.S. leg of his summer tour, which was to include a special performance for his former colleagues at New York's Department of Sanitation, over complications arising from the singer's criminal past and pending his London trial this November.

If they really wanted to hurt him, it's a job well done.

George's rep said the singer was "devastated" he would not be able to play in the States for what would have been the first time in a decade, but that his legal team is working hard to get clearance for the '80s icon to convince officials for a do-over decision.

"George is astounded at the decision and is having lawyers here in the States look at it in the hope that someone will change their mind," the singer's management said in a statement. "George has not been convicted of anything in London and there is a presumption in the Western World of innocence until proven guilty."

The singer, whose full name is George O'Dowd, pleaded not guilty in February to falsely imprisoning a male escort, who claims the star chained him to a wall in the singer's London apartment. He was released on bail pending this fall's trial.

"He is clearly not considered any form of risk," his management said. "George really would love to come to America and repay his American fans' loyalty, and that is why we are asking the U.S. authorities to reconsider their decision."

Read More

21 Comments

Now loading...

Add Your Comment!

Guests

E! Online members

Register | Forgot password?

Play nice and have fun. And please, no HTML tags or special characters including [&*#()!@$].
You've got 1000 characters left.

Post Comment

The Big Picture

Ooh La La! Rob arrives in Paris to promote New Moon...and brings some extra sparkle to the City of Light

More Photos
GRAB & SHARE
Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.
Click Here

Our Partners

  • Huffington Post

Get Your E! News Now

Text ENEWS to 4INFO (44636) for daily celeb news alerts

Standard messaging rates apply.

Did you know you can grab smokin' hot E! Online news, review and gossip through our RSS service?

New to RSS feeds? Learn more >>

Birthdate:

Enter your full birthdate:

  • Opt in for Breaking News Alerts

has been subscribed to the E! News Now Newsletter.

To change your settings, go to your preferences.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.