Former James Bond actor George Lazenby has been booted off his own live concert show following a series of 'creepy' and 'explicit' comments he made during an on-stage interview.
The actor, who played 007 in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, recently appeared on stage to be interviewed as part of an Australian tour titled, ‘The Music of James Bond’.
Yet following a number of complaints from audience members during a show in Perth over Lazenby’s ‘homophobic’ comments and sexually explicit anecdotes, he has been dropped from the bill for all future performances of the tour.
Lazenby said he was 'saddened to hear' that his stories had caused offence.
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"It was never my intention to make hurtful or homophobic comments and I am truly sorry if my stories that I have shared many times were taken that way," he wrote in a statement.
Speaking to Australian radio station 6PR, one attendee said: “He spent all of the interview just talking basically about his sexual conquests, he was homophobic, he swore, he certainly wasn’t talking about his Bond movies, he downplayed the Queen, a day after she died.
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“At one point he named an Australian cricketer whose daughter he was chasing and he said he dragged the daughter out of the pub and put her in the car in London, which is horrific … he named women he had slept with, and there were children in the audience, and a lot families who had brought their kids probably to their first classical music concert.”
"It wasn't even charming, it wasn't even funny. It was creepy, it was offensive... He was disgusting, there's no two ways about it."
Another concertgoer described the event as 'self-interested misogynistic stories of George Lazenby's sexual prowess, intimate details of diarrhoea and objectification of women'.
"It wasn't until a brave member of the public shouted, 'Excuse me, this is offensive', that the tension was released and George was jeered off stage and music saved the day," BBC reports.
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The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), who also performed at the show, distanced themselves from the actor in a statement released this weekend.
"His recollections were personal views that may have reflected a time where such behaviour was tolerated, but has never been acceptable," the orchestra wrote.
"His comments were his own and do not reflect our society today. His views are not shared or endorsed by WASO or Perth Concert Hall."
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Theatre producer Concertworks later said it was 'extremely saddened and disappointed' by Lazenby’s 'language, comments and recollections' throughout the performance, and that he would not be attending the final tour date in Melbourne.
Lazenby said he only ever wished to 'share some stories' and 'entertain'.
“I personally have friends within my close circle who are gay and I would never wish to offend anyone,” he said. “Having been surrounded by strong women all my life, I have always admired and respected women and their wishes,” he said in a statement.
A former model with no prior acting experience, Lazenby was catapulted into fame when he was chosen to replace Sean Connery as 007 back in 1969.
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The Australian actor only ever made one appearance as Bond, and reportedly turned down more than $1 million to reprise the role following the film’s success.
“Bond is a brute … I’ve already put him behind me. I will never play him again. Peace – that’s the message now,” he said at the time.
Topics: James Bond
Tom Sanders