Actor Linden Furnell has been fired from the musical American Idiot following an ‘inappropriate’ comment he made to a female cast member.
Furnell, who was cast as Johnny in the play based on the US punk rock band Green Day, was rehearsing with his co-star when he voiced ‘a crude allusion to menstruation’ – which has now ultimately left him without a job.
Ahead of the show’s opening night in Melbourne on Wednesday, artistic director Nick Skubij announced in a statement that Linden was ‘dismissed from his role in the musical (for) inappropriate behaviour.’
Dismissed: Actor Linden Furnell (L) has been fired from the musical American Idiot following an ‘inappropriate’ comment he made to a female cast member.
Nick’s full statement revealed: ‘Mr Furnell’s dismissal was a consequence of breaching the company’s ‘Statement of Zero Tolerance to Inappropriate Behaviour’ previously communicated to him and all other company members by company management,” Mr Skubij said in a statement.
Linden promptly took to his Facebook page to address the incident, where he admitted his comment was ‘in poor taste and a lame attempt at humour’ and significantly ‘apologised again for the upset caused.’
He began: ‘There is a scene where the characters Johnny and Whatsername have sex. Needless to say it’s a vulnerable, delicate scene and the actors need to trust each other completely.
‘The director had responsibly monitored the scene and our individual comfort repeatedly throughout the run and any possible points of friction had been addressed and resolved in the spirit of workplace friends.
Comments: Furnell, who was cast as Johnny in the play based on the US punk rock band Green Day, was rehearsing with his co-star when he voiced ‘a crude allusion to menstruation’ – which has now ultimately left him without a job
‘In this climate, I know very well this kind of scene is a minefield and trod very carefully through the physical requirements of the scene. Her and I would intermittently check up on each other outside work to make sure we were comfortable with the scene and a few months into the tour, had become good friends with a great sense of trust.’
Continuing on, Furnell admitted that the incident ironically occurred after the sex scene.
‘Johnny and Whatsername are dimly lit while another scene takes place in the foreground. Some off-mic character banter takes place between us in the background.
‘One night I wasn’t careful and made a mistake. It was a particularly hot night in an old theatre without suitable aircon and we were both comically sweaty.
Axed: Ahead of the show’s opening night in Melbourne on Wednesday, artistic director Nick Skubij announced in a statement that Linden was ‘dismissed from his role in the musical (for) inappropriate behaviour’
‘Without thought, I made a crude allusion to menstruation among the banter. It was in poor taste and a lame attempt at humour. The kind of thing you say to make your friends go “euugghhh gross”‘
Linden confessed that the comment left his co-star extremely ‘uncomfortable.’
‘I said that I would do what was necessary to avoid making that mistake again and reassured that I definitely did not intend to cause hurt or discomfort.
‘I made a poor judgement call, assumed too much comfort in a work friendship. I apologised again for the upset caused.’
‘The majority of the time it (impulsive mind and inactive filter) serves me well and makes me the inventive performer that I am. In this particular case it sabotaged me,’ he concluded.
Linden has two TV credits to his name, Spouse For House (2015) and Zoom Zim Zam: Season 2 (2013)