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Daniel Craig says he goes to gay bars to avoid “fights” at straight venues

“I’ve been going to gay bars for as long as I can remember"

By Elizabeth Aubrey

Daniel Craig as James Bond
Daniel Craig as James Bond - Credit: DANJAQ, LLC and MGM

Daniel Craig has revealed that he prefers to go to gay bars instead of straight ones because he is less likely to “get into fights”.

Speaking on the Lunch with Bruce podcast, Craig said he frequented gay bars to avoid the “aggressive d*** swinging” that can be found in some heterosexual spaces.

Craig elaborated: “I’ve been going to gay bars for as long as I can remember. One of the reasons: because I don’t get into fights in gay bars that often.”

The 53-year-old, whose last outing as James Bond in No Time To Die is in cinemas now, said he initially started going to gay bars in his youth to avoid “being in a punch-up” on a night out – something he said happened “quite a lot” in straight spaces.

He also said when he was single, he found it a good place to meet women who were there for “exactly the same reason” he was.

He said gays bars were “a good place to go. Everybody was chill, everybody. You didn’t really have to sort of state your sexuality. It was okay. And it was a very safe place to be. And I could meet girls there, cos there are a lot of girls there for exactly the same reason I was there. It was kind of an ulterior motive.”

Daniel Craig at the Bond premiere
Lashana Lynch, Daniel Craig, Lea Seydoux and Cary Joji Fukunaga attending the World Premiere of No Time To Die, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. (Picture: Alamy)

While his comments were welcomed by the LGBTQ+ community, some on social media have criticised Craig for using the space as a place to meet women. One user said “please don’t go to gay bars to hit on women like this” while another added that it was “disappointing.”

Last month, a viral TikTok video debated whether or not gay spaces should be reserved for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Craig has often challenged the boundaries of masculinity, recently revealing that he kissed fellow cast member Rami Malek on set. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Craig said: “I kissed him, alright! I kiss lots of people. It’s like, I’m a very friendly guy…It’s like no big deal. God almighty. Just spreading the love.”

Earlier this month (October 6), Craig was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The actor joked that it would be an “absolute honour to be walked all over in Hollywood” as he received his star from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

The star was unveiled by Malek and the film’s producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.

Craig recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. No Time to Die has made more than £50m at the UK box office after just two weekends, already making it one of the top 10 highest grossing Bond films.