Boy George tells Herzog his Nova tribute cost him friends, but he has no regrets

British singer Boy George said Monday that his public support for Israel has cost him many friendships, and that he does not regret it.

The Culture Club frontman was speaking at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, during a visit to Israel. He was referring to a song he dedicated to the victims of the Nova music festival massacre on October 7, 2023. "It cost me a lot of friends," he said, in remarks reported in Hebrew by Arutz Sheva. "I don't regret what I did. Someone had to do it."

President Isaac Herzog thanked him for standing with Israel, Israel National News reported. The singer also reflected on how he has changed. "The old Boy George no longer exists," he said, according to the outlet.

Israel Hayom reported that Herzog presented him with a personal gift. The paper did not make clear in its summary what it was.

Museum of Tolerance and a former hostage

Boy George also visited the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, according to The Jerusalem Post. Also at the event were Sylvan Adams, a Canadian-Israeli businessman and philanthropist who serves as president of World Jewish Congress Israel and sits on the museum's board, and Elkana Bohbot.

Bohbot was abducted from the Nova festival on October 7 and held in Gaza until his release in the February 2025 hostage deal. He met the singer during the visit.

The museum is a project linked to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Jewish human rights organization, and has been under construction in central Jerusalem for years.

Earlier in the day, Israel Hayom reported, the singer was exposed to difficult testimony about the October 7 attack. The paper's summary did not say where or from whom.

A public stand with a personal price

Boy George, whose full name is George O'Dowd, rose to fame in the 1980s with Culture Club. He has been openly gay for decades and has long been a prominent figure in British pop culture.

His remarks point to a price that public figures abroad often pay for speaking up for Israel, particularly in the arts. He did not name the friends he lost, and the reports do not say who they were.

The visit comes as Israel continues to look for voices abroad willing to speak about the Nova massacre, in which about 370 people were killed at the festival near Re'im and dozens more were taken hostage.