Boy George has called out his former friend and fellow ‘80s pop star Marilyn for “siding with hideous transphobes” after he shared an “anti-woke” video featuring trans influencer, Lilly Contino.

The video posted on X, formerly Twitter, by right-wing page ‘Anti Woke Memes’, featured controversial influencer Contino correcting hospitality staff who had mistakingly misgendered her.

“Is there ANYONE who can’t see what’s going on here? The self satisfied look of smugness is from someone who is apparently assured that they will get precisely what they’re looking for,” wrote Peter Robinson, best known by his stage alias Marilyn.

“Making money from other people’s intentionally caused discomfort and embarrassment is NOT cute,” the “Calling Your Name” singer added.

Responding to Marilyn’s X post directly, Boy George called his former pal a “right-wing nut job”.

Oh Marilyn, why are you siding with hideous transphobes? It's all kids of sad and disappointing. If you see someone who isn't pulling off the feminine look to your satisfaction and you get a kick of calling them 'sir' then you are just being cruel. Those who haven't quite got the…

— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) February 16, 2026

“Oh Marilyn, why are you siding with hideous transphobes? It’s all kinds of sad and disappointing. If you see someone who isn’t pulling off the feminine look to your satisfaction and you get a kick of calling them ‘sir’ then you are just being cruel,” the Culture Club frontman wrote.

“Those who haven’t quite got the feminine touch are the ones you need to hug. You should be ashamed of yourself. Right wing nut job.”

Marilyn’s criticism of Contino is far from his first X post about the trans community. On 15 February, Marilyn responded to a post from X account ‘Gay Not Queer’ which mocked a trans woman coming out. “Please go back in,” Marilyn replied to the video.

In another post on 11 February, Marilyn responded to a different video which criticised Contino. “WHY THE F*** WOULD ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND BE remotely down with this f****** INSANITY!!?? God put men and women here, and you are who you ARE!!! Or is one now trying to say that God makes MISTAKES??!!!” Marilyn wrote, resharing the post.

The performer also reshared a post from notoriously anti-LGBTQ+ page ‘Libs of TikTok’ which featured Contino. In his response, Marilyn misgendered the influencer and dubbed her an “intentionally obstreperous nightmare”.

Marilyn is a member of the LGBTQ+ community; in the ‘90s, he had a relationship with Bush singer Gavin Rossdale. At the height of his fame in the ‘80s – when “Calling Your Name” became a top five hit in the UK – Marilyn was known for his androgynous, gender-bending appearance.

He and Boy George have a long and complicated history, previously as close friends and roommates during the rise of the New Romantics scene, then as chart rivals, then actual rivals, frenemies, friends again, and now, it seems, back round to rivals.

In 2015, the pair teamed up on music, with Boy George producing some of Marilyn’s new tracks. They were pictured together at the launch of Naomi Campbell’s book Naomi in 2016, before falling out again in 2021 over the Culture Club biopic Karma Chameleon, which is still yet to be released.

Despite appearing to quash the reignited beef around Karma Chameleon soon after it started, it now seems once again that they are far from on speaking terms.

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A former Grindr employee has pinpointed the one key change he believes led to what some users have described as the app’s downfall. 

Grindr is currently trialling a premium subscription plan that issues artificial intelligence and costs members $500 per month. 

The plan, called EDGE, is being tested with a selection of users in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, with prices ranging from $349.99 to $499.99. It will not replace the current Grindr Unlimited subscription service, but rather sit above it.

As per Vox, over the past few years, Grindr users have complained that the app has become more unusable and expensive. 

A former marketing employee who left Grindr in 2023 and wished to be known as “Ryan” told Vox the downturn began in 2022, when the company had its initial public offering and went public. 

“Ryan” said this shift led the app’s focus to move from its users to its investors. 

George Arison was announced as the dating app’s newest CEO in September 2022. His appointment was met with concern after it emerged that he had expressed support for an anti-trans politician.

Ryan said of the app’s downfall: “Grindr really changed the game in a lot of ways; it was a different type of cruising. 

“It was, at the time, so cool and inventive, but now, it’s taken on a Silicon Valley shape.”

AJ Balance, who is Grindr’s chief product officer, responded to criticism that the app was straying from its core mission of making hooking up easier and said: “Some of the principles we have in building our products is giving users choice… and control over what products they want to use. 

“If users don’t want to engage [with these products], they don’t have to go there. They can also opt out of these features if they don’t want to participate at all.”

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.

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