George Michael Death: Boy George Talks 'Feud', Admits They Were In 'Competition' [VIDEO]
Boy George had an up and down relationship with George Michael over the years, but he paid tribute to the late singer this week.
George appeared on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live Tuesday night where he told host Andy Cohen about the friendly rivalry they had in the '80s.
"In the early days we were competition to each other. Both called George, both made soul music. So in the early days we were really in competition," George noted. "Then sort of later on, I started to really appreciate him for what he was as a musician - you know, right around 'Faith.' I started to really appreciate his talent."
George and Michael had generally been closely associated for years, with their pop sound, unique fashion sense and confident queer identity making them very similar in the eyes of the public.
Michael died on Christmas Day from reported heart failure, at the age of 53. However, his autopsy is still inconclusive at this time, according to police. He left behind a legacy of hits, including "Faith", "Father Figure", "Careless Whisper", "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Freedom '90" and many more.
George spoke on how Michael distanced himself from those around him in his later years.
The singer said he kept in contact with Michael "on and off," though, "He kept people out, he was quite private, so I didn't know much about what was going on."
George also finally addressed whether they had a proper feud in the '80s when both were superstars, regarding Michael not wanting to come out as gay at the time.
"Yes, we did. Not really a feud. In the '80s - Pete Burns, me - we all used to always be really b----y about each other. It was like the thing we did in the '80s," he admitted.
George can currently be seen on NBC's The New Celebrity Apprentice.
