Dinah O’Dowd, the adored mother of Boy George, passed away on Monday at the age of 84.
Representatives for the Culture Club singer confirmed the terrible news to MailOnline, saying that he is ‘devastated’ by the death.
Family members, including George, 61, who was with Dinah at the time, have asked for privacy.
“I am very sad to confirm the news of The passing of Boy George’s lovely mother Dinah,” said George’s manager PK in a statement. Both George and the family are inconsolable.
“When she passed away, they were gathered beside her bedside, and George was holding her hand. While he is unable to answer, he is appreciative and the messages are helpful. He wants me to express his sincere gratitude for the overwhelming outpouring of love and support he is receiving.”
“George and his family would kindly request some privacy at this time to be able to grieve and deal with their heartbreaking loss,” the statement reads.
George O’Dowd, better known as Boy George, has four brothers and one sister. Although Jeremiah, his father, passed away in 2003, George has previously spoken about how his father beat his mother.
DJ Fat Tony, a close friend of Boy George, praised Dinah on Instagram, writing, “God bless you, you amazing woman. My condolences to @boygeorgeofficial and the entire O Dowd family for losing Dinah. You were an amazing, gorgeous, and powerful woman.”
Boy George reported in 2020 that his mother had come home after spending two days in the hospital in April due to “heart or lung problems.”
Dinah was admitted to Greenwich Hospital for treatment for conditions unrelated to the novel coronavirus COVID-19, but she was later returned into her family’s custody.
George expressed his relief that his mother had escaped the situation where she might have come into contact with the lethal bug to Lorraine when calling from his home in London.
“My mother is doing well; she has returned home, he remarked. She spent two days in the hospital, but thankfully it was not because of the corona.”
“And it wasn’t what we initially thought,” the speaker continued, “so everything about it was just getting her home from the hospital because obviously, with everything going on, my mum’s 82, it’s not the best place for her to be.”
George acknowledged that when he thought back on Dinah’s hospital stay, she was given the greatest treatment possible by devoted NHS personnel who tried their hardest to keep her spirits high.
He remembered, “I was able to speak to her on the phone, which was really funny. When the nurse was singing to my mother, she said, ‘I can’t hear you, take your mask off,’ which was a really sweet moment.”
Following her hospitalization, doctors declared that they “won’t resuscitate if things go wrong,” prompting George to implore supporters to pray for his “beautiful mother.”
The Culture Club star posted on Twitter, saying, “My beautiful mum is in the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Woolwich.”
“She has a heart or lung issue. Although they’ve stated they won’t revive her if something goes wrong, she is stable. Evidently, it won’t function. Just how do they know? Pray for us! @LG_NHS.”
He described in 2017 how he once saved his mother’s life after she overdosed.
She took medications, he revealed on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories. I recall sort of keeping her awake as I was confused about what had transpired.
George had remarked, in reference to the issues between his mother and father: “I used to tell my mum to leave my dad when I was like nine.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I really loved my father, but he wasn’t a good husband or a good father.”
George added, “My dad was a pretty extreme guy. Everyone would go hungry if (he) lost his cool and threw the entire Sunday supper away.”
“He constantly struck us and punched us, but everyone did that in the 1970s. It often took place.”
“He had a tendency to lose control but was also quite charming and witty. He was a true contrast, and I didn’t realize how resilient my mother was until I was 15 or 16 years old.”
