The man Boy George was convicted of imprisoning has criticised the BBC’s decision to hire the pop star on the new series of The Voice UK.
Boy George was convicted of false imprisonment in 2009 after chaining Audun Carlsen to a radiator in his London home. Speaking to The Sun, Carlsen said that he should not have been hired to act as a coach on the series.
“The BBC should be ashamed of themselves for employing Boy George after everything he did to me,” Carlsen said. “He shouldn’t be allowed to be a mentor, they should axe him. He is a criminal who has been to prison.
“If a male celebrity beat up a woman with a chain, handcuffed her to a wall and threatened her with a sex toy, there would be a public outcry if he was given a high-profile job at the BBC.”
Boy George will make his debut on The Voice this Saturday (January 9) alongside Will.I.Am and Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson, as well as fellow new judge Paloma Faith.
George replaces Sir Tom Jones on the panel of the talent show. Shortly after the BBC announced the new coaching line-up, Jones wrote a Facebook post expressing his disappointment with the way in which he was axed.
The BBC’s Director of Television, Danny Cohen, has since said he is ”truly sorry” that Sir Tom Jones feels disappointed.
The Voice will end its time at the BBC this year before moving to ITV in 2016.