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Bond banned: What Lazenby said to get him dropped from national tour

<p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">Lazenby later said that he was " saddened to hear" that his stories had offended fans and said:</p> <p dir="ltr">"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.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">I 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 <a href="https://t.co/zD9jEazNm2">pic.twitter.com/zD9jEazNm2</a></p> <p>— George Lazenby (@lazenbyofficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/lazenbyofficial/status/1569239419693170688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Lazenby has since been removed from all future performances on the tour.</p> <p dir="ltr">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.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the meantime, it has "chosen to discontinue its relationship with Mr Lazenby" and has commenced "a thorough review of the matter".</p> <p dir="ltr">According to one audience member, Lazenby spent Saturday's interview "talking about basically his sexual conquests".</p> <p dir="ltr">"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.</p> <p dir="ltr">"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.</p> <p dir="ltr">"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."</p> <p dir="ltr">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."</p> <p dir="ltr">The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), who also performed at the show, distanced themselves from the actor in a statement released, reading:</p> <p dir="ltr">"His recollections were personal views that may have reflected a time where such behaviour was tolerated, but has never been acceptable," the orchestra wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">"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."</p> <p dir="ltr">Australia's culture minister David Templeman has added: "I understand that the audience made their views clear about the content and good on them.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

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Kochie stunned at how George Lazenby scored 007 role

<p>George Lazenby, Australia's first and only actor to play the iconic role of James Bond, has shared how he scored the role of 007. </p> <p>The 82-year-old actor is travelling around Australia, revealing secret 007 stories on stage, along with a concert performance featuring all the famous songs from the James Bond movies.</p> <p>During his tour, Lazenby stopped by the <em>Sunrise</em> studios to share how he joined the elite list of Bond actors that include Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery and Daniel Craig.</p> <p>Chatting with Nat Barr and Kochie, he said it's all about who you know. </p> <p>“I started off with a friend of mine who wanted to be an actor and he had a date with a casting director, and he said ‘you’ve got to help me out, my girlfriend has come back into town’,” Lazenby said.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">The only Aussie to ever play James Bond, George Lazenby, told Sunrise how the infamous Hollywood casting couch resulted in him landing the screen role of a lifetime playing super spy <a href="https://twitter.com/007?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@007</a> <a href="https://t.co/hfqCrZbzWz">pic.twitter.com/hfqCrZbzWz</a></p> <p>— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) <a href="https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1564855509261242369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>“I went to meet the casting director, Maggie Abbott, who was the biggest agent in London at the time."</p> <p>“Then we went home, I won’t tell you what we did, but you can guess, and she was quite impressed.”</p> <p>“She had a casting couch?” Koch asked, stunned.</p> <p>“Uh, yes,” Lazenby replied.</p> <p>George was working as a model at the time, and said he had no intention of going into acting until Abbott tracked him down. </p> <p>Lazenby also admitted to turning down big money to continue on as Bond after his manager convinced him to follow Clint Eastwood’s path into westerns.</p> <p>The actor is <a href="https://concertworks.com.au" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touring Australia</a> performing songs made famous by the Bond franchise throughout September.</p> <p>He’ll be joined by <em>SAS Australia</em> contestant and <em>Australia’s Got Talent</em> winner Bonnie Anderson, and <em>The Voice Australia’s</em> Luke Kennedy.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Nick Cave’s son has passed away at 31

<p dir="ltr">Australian rocker Nick Cave has confirmed that his eldest son, Jethro Lazenby, has passed away at 31 years old.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a statement with multiple media outlets in the early hours on Tuesday morning, Cave asked for privacy for the family in the wake of the tragic news.</p> <p dir="ltr">“With much sadness, I can confirm that my son, Jethro, has passed away,” Cave wrote. “We would be grateful for family privacy at this time.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Jethro’s cause of death hasn’t been confirmed.</p> <p dir="ltr">Born in 1991 to Melbourne-based model Beau Lazenby, Jethro reportedly didn’t meet his father until he was seven and spent his early years in Australia, per <em><a href="https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/jethro-lazenby-dead-nick-cave-confirms-death-of-model-son-jethro-lazenby/d1885777-5976-461d-ba5e-82f16b26357f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9Honey</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">After moving to the United Kingdom, Jethro began a career in modelling.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was difficult at the time, but it turned out great in the end,” Cave told <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/feb/23/popandrock.features" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Guardian</a></em> of their relationship in 2018.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To my eternal regret I didn’t make much contact with Jethro in the early years. I now have a great relationship with him.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Jethro’s death comes just two days after he was reportedly released from jail after pleading guilty to one count of unlawful assault against his mother, and was due to return to court this month for sentencing.</p> <p dir="ltr">It is also the second time Cave and Lazenby have lost one of their children to an early death, after their son, Arthur, suffered a fatal brain injury in 2015 after falling off a cliff near the family’s Brighton home in the UK.</p> <p dir="ltr">Arthur, 15, was found unconscious by passersby who attempted CPR. After he was airlifted to a local hospital, he was pronounced dead.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cave and Lazenby also share a 21-year-old son, Earl, who is Arthur’s twin, while Cave shares a 30-year-old son with his ex-wife, Brazilian journalist Viviane Carneiro.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-9fbba14c-7fff-c902-1016-db63e9be7ec5"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @jethrocave (Instagram)</em></p>

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