'80s pop icon looks unrecognisable as he's pictured leaving a Hollywood hotel

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A much-loved British pop star looked unrecognisable as he was pictured in Los Angeles on Monday.
The flamboyant 64-year-old shot to stardom more than 40 years ago with the chart-topping single Do You Want To Hurt Me in 1982.
Within a year he had become a household name, with the UK gripped by his group's latest single Karma Chameleon, which soared to Number 1 and remains a well-known hit all these years later.
And he forged a successful solo career after the leaving the band later that decade, making a name for himself as a DJ, producer, fashion designer and writer, with three autobiographies about his life released.
But can you guess who the star pictured in the California sunshine is?
That's right, it's none other than It's A Miracle hitmaker Boy George!
Sporting a fresh-faced look, the '80s icon appeared almost unrecognisable as he stepped out of a hotel in West Hollywood alongside a friend.
Covering much of his face with a purple and orange hat and some coordinated sunglasses, George carried a blazer with him while donning a predominantly black outfit.
More in-keeping with his usual extravagant dress-sense were his shoes, with the star slipping into a pair of eye-catching red trainers for the outing.
While he may look somewhat different to his days as a rocker in the '80s, George, real name George O'Dowd, and Culture Club are still active and touring all these years later.
After a brief stint as a solo artist in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the group reformed in 1998 to release the compilation album Greatest Moments.
But George's successful career certainly hasn't been all plain-sailing, with the singer involved in a number of controversies in the mid-2000s and 2010s.
After being sentenced to community service when police found cocaine in his apartment in 2003, George was imprisoned half a decade later after being convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort.
It came as a huge blow for the Brit, who had recently made a return to the limelight with the single Yes We Can, which was inspired by the presidency of Barack Obama.
George opened up about the ordeal only last week in an interview with The Times, admitting he hopes to change people's opinions of him 'eventually'.
'It didn't need to happen,' he told the publication.
'But I can't change it and I'm not defined by my mistakes. I've transcended my own ideas of who I am.
'Now I'm on a mission to transcend the ideas people have of me. I think it will happen... eventually.'
Just a matter of weeks ago George hit the headlines once again after taking a swipe at JK Rowling over a trans row.
The Harry Potter author, who has been unapologetically vocal about her views regarding gender in recent years, had taken to X to celebrate a landmark Supreme Court ruling that the definition of a woman is based on biological sex.
In response, George branded Rowling a 'rich, bored bully' before appearing on Lorraine late last month where he again spoke about the ordeal.
During the chat Lorraine told him: 'You've always stood up for people who sometimes don't have a voice for themselves... People in the trans community, it's been very rough for them and you've said "No it's not fair".'
The singer explained: 'It's real life stuff, not two celebrities bickering on the internet.
Speaking about their arguments, Boy George said: 'I think it's hilarious that you're having a row with someone that I've never met. I probably never will meet.
'I feel like in the movies she creates this beautiful magic world, in real life she's a muggle. It's very disappointing it's not true.'
George, who is openly homosexual, has regularly defended trans rights over the years.