Sarah Michelle Gellar Confused George Michael With Boy George — Who Didn’t Die

Image by Getty
Sarah Michelle Gellar accidentally tweeted out condolences for the wrong famous singer this past weekend.
After George Michael died on Christmas Day from reported heart failure, Gellar sent out a tweet confusing the Wham! singer with Boy George.
“Do you really want to hurt me? I guess you do 2016,” the actress tweeted (and later deleted) on Sunday night, followed by the hashtag #ripboygeorge.
Users quickly pointed out the error to Gellar, who followed up on her mistake. “Just as sad when you get the correct information- #ripGeorgeMichael thank you to everyone who corrected me- it’s still so sad,” the actress wrote.
Just as sad when you get the correct information- #ripGeorgeMichael thank you to everyone who corrected me- it’s still so sad
— Sarah Michelle (@SarahMGellar) December 25, 2016
She then explained that she knows the difference between the two men. “My intentions were good,” Gellar wrote.
And for the record yes I completely know the difference between Boy George and George Michael- I heard incorrectly. My intentions were good
— Sarah Michelle (@SarahMGellar) December 26, 2016
Boy George, who was rumored to have once had a tempestuous relationship with the singer, posted his own message about Michael’s death.
“He was so loved and I hope he knew it because the sadness today is beyond words. Devastating,” the singer wrote on Twitter. “What a beautiful voice he had and his music will live on as a testament to his talent. I can’t believe he is gone.”
Thea Glassman is an associate editor at the Forward. Contact her at [email protected]
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
- 2
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 3
Fast Forward The invitation said, ‘No Jews.’ The response from campus officials, at least, was real.
- 4
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
-
News These are the most influential Jews in Trump’s first 100 days
-
Fast Forward Nike apologizes for marathon ad using the Holocaust phrase ‘Never Again’
-
Opinion I wrote the book on Hitler’s first 100 days. Here’s how Trump’s compare
-
Fast Forward Ohio Applebee’s defaced with antisemitic graffiti reading ‘Jews work here’
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.