Photo: WENN
The male escort who was falsely imprisoned by Boy George back in 2007, an incident that left him "shocked, degraded and traumatised" and landed George in prison, has spoken out against the BBC for hiring him on The Voice.
Boy George and Paloma Faith are set to take over from Tom Jones and Rita Ora for the fifth series of the BBC singing competition - but former escort Audun Carlsen believes George should not have been hired.
In 2009, Boy George was sentenced to 15 months in jail for falsely imprisoning Carlsen by handcuffing him to a wall and beating him with a metal chain. During the trial, the jury was told that he invited Carlsen into his bedroom and then ambushed him over apparent attempts to hack into his computer.
Carlsen was said to have been beaten and handcuffed to a wall, and then beaten with a chain as he escaped and fled into the street.
Now, speaking to The Sun, Carlsen has said, "The BBC should be ashamed of themselves for employing Boy George after everything he did to me. He shouldn't be allowed to be a mentor - they should axe him. He is a criminal who has been to prison."
He continued, "If a male celebrity beat up a woman with a chain, handcuffed her to a wall and threatened her with a sex toy, there would be a public outcry if he was given a high-profile job at the BBC. But because I am a gay man they think it's OK. It's outrageous."
He added, "TV presenters are supposed to be role models and he clearly isn't one. He has never once apologised or shown any hint of remorse."
The fifth and penultimate series of The Voice UK is set to begin on 9 January.
