Russell Crowe tells 'tone-deaf' story about 'sodomising' Jacqueline McKenzie

Russell Crowe presents at the AACTA Awards. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwi-born actor Russell Crowe has been slammed as "tone-deaf" after telling a bizarre story about "sodomising" a co-star.

According to The Guardian, the star took to the stage at the AACTA Awards and told the shocking anecdote in an attempt to highlight the need for "sensitivity" in the industry.

In what the publication calls "the most tone-deaf moment of the evening", Crowe spoke about filming with Jacqui McKenzie on the set of [1992 film] Romper Stomper.

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A post shared by Jacqueline McKenzie (@jacquelinemckenzie) on Dec 7, 2017 at 7:33pm PST

He said: "I didn't actually intend to do that – I was trying to keep my bits away from her bits, and she's been given one of those pieces of elastic that the girls get when you do those scenes, which protects them from all things, and my bits and pieces were in a little canvas sack with a drawstring," he said, to a muted crowd.

"And it wasn't (sic) actually my desire to keep the bits apart. It wasn't until the opening night of the film that it was pointed out by none other than Jacqui McKenzie's beautiful late mother that we were in fact, in her mind, engaged in sodomy. Anyway, that was just a story about sensitivity!"

Just last week, McKenzie added her name to the list of women speaking out about assault and harassment in the entertainment industry, posting to Facebook about the "grubby behaviour" she had to deal with early on in her career.

In an earlier interview, McKenzie told Guardian Australia: "It's not just about sexual assault and harassment, it's bullying and bad behaviour in the industry."

"In all industries, no matter what job, gender or age, it occurs everywhere. I posted on Facebook last week about my experience … I'm really interested in effecting some change now."