"I'm being honest, I say what I think"
About this Quote
A line like "I'm being honest, I say what I think" sounds simple until you hear it in Boy George's voice - a voice forged in the glare of tabloids, club culture, and a pop industry that sells personality as much as melody. The intent reads like self-defense and self-branding at once. He's not just claiming truthfulness; he's staking out a right to be legible on his own terms in a world that has repeatedly tried to narrate him: gender nonconformity as spectacle, addiction as punchline, provocation as strategy.
The subtext is a negotiation with suspicion. "I'm being honest" implies the listener expects a performance, a pose, a manufactured line - fair, when your job is literally performance. So the sentence splits into two parts: first a credibility bid ("believe me"), then a blunt ethic ("I say what I think"). That second clause is less confession than permission slip, a preemptive justification for whatever comes next, whether it's an opinion that offends, a refusal to apologize, or a boundary drawn against being edited into palatability.
Context matters because Boy George came up when pop stars were supposed to be charmingly evasive and when queerness in mainstream culture was policed through caricature. Honesty becomes a counter-myth: not purity, but survival. It's also a reminder that candor is never neutral; it can be liberating, abrasive, even strategically deployed. The power of the line is its double edge: it frames outspokenness as authenticity while quietly daring you to call it an act.
The subtext is a negotiation with suspicion. "I'm being honest" implies the listener expects a performance, a pose, a manufactured line - fair, when your job is literally performance. So the sentence splits into two parts: first a credibility bid ("believe me"), then a blunt ethic ("I say what I think"). That second clause is less confession than permission slip, a preemptive justification for whatever comes next, whether it's an opinion that offends, a refusal to apologize, or a boundary drawn against being edited into palatability.
Context matters because Boy George came up when pop stars were supposed to be charmingly evasive and when queerness in mainstream culture was policed through caricature. Honesty becomes a counter-myth: not purity, but survival. It's also a reminder that candor is never neutral; it can be liberating, abrasive, even strategically deployed. The power of the line is its double edge: it frames outspokenness as authenticity while quietly daring you to call it an act.
Quote Details
| Topic | Honesty & Integrity |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
George, Boy. (2026, January 15). I'm being honest, I say what I think. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-being-honest-i-say-what-i-think-142028/
Chicago Style
George, Boy. "I'm being honest, I say what I think." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-being-honest-i-say-what-i-think-142028/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I'm being honest, I say what I think." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-being-honest-i-say-what-i-think-142028/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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