Music icon Boy George defends plan to appear at Eurovision despite Israel controversy

British singer Boy George is defending his appearance at this year’s Eurovision despite controversy over Israel’s participation in the annual song contest, saying he would never turn his back on his “Jewish friends.”

The singer is set to perform alongside artist Senhit on the entry from San Marino at the competition next month in Vienna. Last year, five countries — Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Iceland and Slovenia — quit the contest after Israel was approved for participation following a vote by European Broadcasting Union members, causing outrage among many fans of the competition.

“I played in Israel, I got a letter from Roger Waters telling me not to go and I went, because I’ve got a lot of fans in Israel,” Boy George tells Sky News. “Plus, in the UK, I have a lot of Jewish friends — and I know them to be beautiful, good, kind, smart, loving people, so expecting me to turn against my friends is a lunacy, and it’s not going to happen.”

Boy George also tells The Daily Mail that “from the beginning of my career I wore a Jewish star. Go back and look at pictures of Culture Club. I am so affiliated with Jewish people. I am not necessarily affiliated with Israel. I don’t really have an opinion on that. But the job of music is to unite people.”

The British pop icon was also among the entertainment industry signatories on a letter published last week backing Israel’s appearance at this year’s competition, alongside Sharon Osborne, Helen Mirren, Amy Schumer and Mila Kunis.