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Actor George Lazenby, who played James Bond in the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, has been dropped from a tour bearing his name after several complaints about homophobic and sexist remarks he made onstage.
The remarks reportedly occurred during a performance of the Music of James Bond with George Lazenby tour in Perth, Australia.
A person who attended the show called into an Australian radio station and detailed the remarks Lazenby made, which the attendee said also included slights directed at Queen Elizabeth II the day after she passed last week.
\u201cJames Bond actor George Lazenby sacked from tour after 'homophobic, creepy' remarks https://t.co/MndVG3xCAl\u201d— PinkNews (@PinkNews) 1662993454
The caller told radio station 6pr:
“He spent all of the interview just talking about basically 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."
"It was absolutely unbelievable."
The caller went on to talk of a disturbing story Lazenby related about pursuing a woman at a pub in London.
"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 again is of course horrific.”
Lazenby's exact words are unknown. But on Twitter, other attendees provided further details of what Lazenby allegedly said that indicated it was an anecdote about him sexually assaulting the woman.
\u201cFor anyone with doubts about how horrified the audience with George Lazenby was in Perth.\u201d— MI6 HQ (@MI6 HQ) 1662979660
The caller also said Lazenby named several women he had slept with over the years, which they said was particularly inappropriate given the family atmosphere of the show.
“There were a lot families who had brought their kids probably to their first ever classical music concert."
“It wasn’t even charming, it wasn’t even funny. It was creepy, it was offensive… It was absolutely horrific behavior.”
Lazenby responded to the uproar with a thread on Twitter.
\u201cI am sorry and saddened to hear that my stories in Perth on Saturday might have offended some people. 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. I only ever wish to share\u201d— George Lazenby (@George Lazenby) 1662970807
He apologized for his remarks and said the offense they caused was unintentional. Lazenby also mentioned the respect he has for "friends within my close circle who are gay" and the "strong women" in his life.
But the apology did little to quell the controversy. The West Australian Symphony Orchestra, which was part of the event, released a statement on the matter condemning Lazenby's comments.
“Mr Lazenby’s recollections were personal views and they are totally unacceptable."
“His views are not shared or endorsed by WASO or Perth Concert Hall.”
Despite the comments, many rushed to Lazenby's defense, casting the uproar as yet another incidence of "wokeness" gone wild.
But most people on Twitter were disgusted, and Lazenby's apology thread rang hollow.
\u201c@lazenbyofficial Dear god, remove the word IF from apologies like this.\n\nYou were homophobic. You offended people. These are facts.\u201d— George Lazenby (@George Lazenby) 1662970807
\u201c@lazenbyofficial Not sorry at all then.\u201d— George Lazenby (@George Lazenby) 1662970807
\u201cVery disappointed to read this story about #GeorgeLazenby who, despite making only one film as James Bond, I always regarded as one of the best portrayals of 007. \ud83d\ude14\u201d— DrewOnTheHill (@DrewOnTheHill) 1662993072
\u201c@lazenbyofficial Come, come Mr Bond homophobia is not to be tolerated.\u201d— George Lazenby (@George Lazenby) 1662970807
\u201c@lazenbyofficial Oh George, don\u2019t you remember the time in Norway, you and group of fabulous bond girls giving an interview? You regaled us with tales of how you bedded most of the actresses you worked with. Even my husband, @VinnieTortorich was horrified. We were just too polite to say anything!\u201d— George Lazenby (@George Lazenby) 1662970807
\u201c@lazenbyofficial This clearly isn\u2019t an apology\u201d— George Lazenby (@George Lazenby) 1662970807
\u201cPlease let's not fall into the trap of polarising the Bond online community over the George Lazenby story. It's not 'woke' to be awake to past mistakes. Age is never an excuse. Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequence. The concert organisers did the right thing.\u201d— Licence To Queer \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\ud83c\udf78 (@Licence To Queer \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f\ud83c\udf78) 1663004551
\u201cIt's so weird to see people blindly defending George Lazenby today. I couldn't care less about his age or what he's done for the s\u0336e\u0336r\u0336i\u0336e\u0336s\u0336 film he starred in...it's gross\u201d— George Aldridge (@George Aldridge) 1662990931
\u201cHorrendous from George Lazenby.\n\nWorrying people are defending him because of his age and \u201cit was a different time.\u201d\n\nNope. Unacceptable behaviour in any era. Just glad people can call it out now and he can be cancelled.\n\n#metoo #GeorgeLazenby #equality\u201d— LadyChancer (@LadyChancer) 1663021987
\u201cGeorge Lazenby\u2019s PR agent this week, through gritted teeth\u201d— The Bubbles Tickle My Tchaikovsky (@The Bubbles Tickle My Tchaikovsky) 1662980600
The show's production company, Concertworks, confirmed via its legal counsel that the show's final performance this weekend in Melbourne would play without his participation after it had received multiple complaints about Lazenby's comments in Perth.