Boy George has slammed critics who called for him to be “cancelled” over comments he made about transgender pronouns, insisting he knows as well as anyone how hurtful hate towards LGBTQ+ people can be.

The Karma Chameleon star sparked backlash when he tweeted that those using their preferred gender pronouns were “attention seeking”.

However, in an interview with The Times, he explained his remarks, insisting the comments weren’t intended to be offensive – and he’s still trying to “getting his head round” new ways of labelling gender.

“When I was growing up nobody used the term transgender, because it was almost like a medical term,” he admitted. “So this transgender thing is new… (and) people want to be offended, because they think that whatever’s going on for them is much more important than anything else.

“But I’ll call you whatever you want. I’ve spent years calling people fake names. Boy George. Siouxsie Sioux. Johnny Rotten. Of course, it’s not the same as your sexuality.”

The Culture Club frontman and gay icon, known for his flamboyant style, added younger generations do not understand the battles that he and older members of the LGBTQ+ community faced back in the day.

“I grew up in the 1970s, where every day you were called faggot, puff – at home, at school, on the street. Policemen could hit you. You went to school knowing you could get whipped,” he recalled.

“Kids just don’t understand. I don’t want to sound like an old codger, but they don’t get what people went through for them to be so precious, and I don’t want to dull myself to the point that I don’t have an opinion.”

George will open up on his life in a new biopic movie, which he teased will be “emotional”.