Bond banned: What Lazenby said to get him dropped from national tour
Former James Bond star George Lazenby has issued an apology after he was accused of making “creepy” and “disgusting” comments during an interview in Perth.
The 83-year-old actor, who was appearing as part of an Australian tour called The Music of James Bond, got up on stage and shocked the audience as they took offence to his "homophobic" comments and explicit anecdotes.
Lazenby later said that he was " saddened to hear" that his stories had offended fans and said:
"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.”
Lazenby has since been removed from all future performances on the tour.
Theatre producer Concertworks said it was "extremely saddened and disappointed" by Lazenby's "language, comments and recollections" throughout Saturday's show in Perth and will provide full refunds for concertgoers.
In the meantime, it has "chosen to discontinue its relationship with Mr Lazenby" and has commenced "a thorough review of the matter".
According to one audience member, Lazenby spent Saturday's interview "talking about basically his sexual conquests".
"He was homophobic, he swore, he certainly wasn't talking about his Bond movies," she told Perth radio station 6PR. "He downplayed the Queen a day after she died," she added.
"It was absolutely unbelievable… At one point he named an Australian cricketer whose daughter he was chasing, and he said he dragged the daughter out of a pub and put her in a car in London, which again is of course horrific.
"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 attendee described the interview as the "self-interested misogynistic stories of George Lazenby's sexual prowess, intimate details of diarrhoea and objectification of women."
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), who also performed at the show, distanced themselves from the actor in a statement released, reading:
"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."
Australia's culture minister David Templeman has added: "I understand that the audience made their views clear about the content and good on them.
Image: Getty