A performance by Boy George and Culture Club will go ahead as planned at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver on Sept. 7 despite criticism and controversy over a new song by the performer that expresses sympathy for the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks and voices support for Israel.

Since the release of the 65-year-old singer’s AI-assisted single, “We Will Dance Again” on July 26, the PNE has received numerous complaints, refund requests and calls to cancel the show.

The reggae song includes such lyrics as “When you’re attacked, that’s what the army’s for/ Does it get ugly? You bet it does” and “You never mention October 7/Young girls raped against trees/Murdered brutally/For the crime of dancing.”

The chorus ends, “I stand with the Jews/I don’t feel brave, I just need to behave like a human.”  The outro of the song, “You say genocide, I say war/When they come to kill you,” is sung in Hebrew.

On Aug. 26, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) sent out an action alert in which it urged people to thank the PNE for keeping the concert in its schedule and to support Boy George, whose songs “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” topped the charts in the 1980s.

Nico Slobinsky, CIJA’s vice-president of the Pacific region, told The CJN, “We welcome the PNE’s decision to stand by Boy George and Culture Club and to uphold the principle that artists should be free to perform and express themselves without being subjected to censorship because of their views.”

Slobinsky said that Boy George has used his platform to express solidarity with the people of Israel and to remember the victims of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. Calls to cancel a concert because of an artist’s views cross an important line, he argued.

“At a time when we are seeing increasing pressure on artists and cultural institutions to conform to particular political positions, it is encouraging to see the PNE stand firmly for freedom of expression and artistic diversity. We appreciate their leadership and hope Vancouver will welcome Boy George and Culture Club on Sept. 7,” Slobinsky added.

In its call for people to thank the PNE, CIJA noted that many Jewish community members planned to attend the event.

Laura Ballance, a spokesperson for the PNE, told The CJN, “As one of Canada’s leading locations for live music and diverse performances for over a century, we have hosted literally thousands of artists – from Elvis to the Rolling Stones to the Stars of Drag to Marilyn Manson and now Boy George. And at times there have been strong feelings expressed about the appropriateness of certain acts performing. 

“Our history speaks to our strong position of non-censorship, adhering to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms and within it the protections related to freedom of expression, as well as our own tradition of allowing the public to decide to purchase a ticket, or not, to the many shows and events held throughout Hastings Park and its many venues.”

The PNE said it is working closely with the Vancouver Police Department on security planning for all events held on site, not just for Boy George’s concert.

Boy George’s Labour Day performance, part of the PNE’s Summer Nights Concerts series, will wrap up the 17-day PNE Fair at Vancouver’s Hastings Park. The PNE Fair, which began in 1910, is the largest fair in Western Canada.

Following the July release of “We Will Dance Again,” Boy George faced a backlash in the United Kingdom and withdrew from a scheduled performance in London’s West End. The singer was to play a cameo role as King Herod in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar at the London Palladium from Aug. 3 to 15.

At the beginning of August, the digital streaming service Bandcamp removed “We Will Dance Again” from its platform.  Bandcamp said that its policy prohibits artists from relying on artificial intelligence in their work in a substantial way.

On Aug. 4, Boy George took to social media to say that Bandcamp “bowed to the pressure of antisemites because the system, just like any digital platform, cannot tell if something is AI. Or maybe the problem is internal, but I don’t buy the no AI policy because Bandcamp has it in droves.”

In a subsequent post, he said that the song is available on the e-commerce platform Payhip.

On July 31, Boy George parted ways with the long-time manager of his record label, BGP (Boy George Presents), after a falling out over the release of “We Will Dance Again.”

In breaking the news, Boy George wrote, “In Buddhism we understand that every action comes with a consequence. Due to my decision to stand up for my Jewish friends, I am losing a few people from my life. Today I parted company with Tony Pontius, who has run my record label BGP for a number of years.

“When someone is gutless, it really does not hurt to say goodbye. My faith in humanity will not diminish, and the truth will always win. I will release it!”