Article brought to you by: Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
'Boy' George takes 'Lady' Gaga to task
August 12th, 2010
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
Both singers are known for their outlandish looks, outspoken personalities and their rocket-like ascension to fame and fortune. Now, Eighties favorite Boy George is soundly denouncing Lady Gaga's casual drug use. As a former substance abuser, George finds Gaga's frivolous approach to cocaine abuse unacceptable.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - "You're raving!" the androgynous pop singer said of Gaga in an Internet blog. "Why offer up this information on a whim? Could it be that her use of coke is not so "occasional?'" he asks.
"As a recovering addict who knows how dangerous 'occasional' use is, I can think of no reason for Gaga to reveal this to her young audience."
Boy George was referring to Lady Gaga's recent interview in Vanity Fair where she confessed that she "occasionally" took cocaine.
Gaga told the interviewer, "I won't lie; it's occasional. And when I say occasional, I mean maybe a couple of times a year."
Gaga did warn her young fans not to copy her, saying, "I do not want my fans to ever emulate that or be that way.
"I don't want my fans to think they have to be that way to be great. It's in the past. It was a low point, and it led to disaster."
The 49-year-old George went on to proclaim "One has to wonder how much of a grip Gaga has on things.
"Up until now she has seemed almost annoyingly professional and focused and this seems out of character!
"Isn't saying your an "occasional" drug taker a bit like saying you're bisexual? That usually means you're raving!"
In addition to the excoriation by Boy George, physicians strongly caution against using cocaine. Dr Alex Yellowlees, Medical Director and Consultant Psychiatrist at the Priory Hospital Glasgow, says that "cocaine has a more refined image than other drugs because it is often seen to being taken by glamorous celebrities.
"But the more accepted it is as 'normal' the more people could try it that is susceptible to developing problems or addictions."