Daniel Craig Says He Prefers Gay Bars Because There’s Less “Dick Swinging”

The James Bond star says he's less likely to end up in a fight at a gay bar

James Bond actor Daniel Craig sipping a beer
Daniel Craig, probably trying not to get into a bar fight.
THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images

While James Bond is famous for sipping shaken-not-stirred martinis in the company of beautiful women, 007 actor Daniel Craig prefers to enjoy his vodka sodas among a different crowd: gay men.

The No Time to Die star revealed his preference for gay bars over straight ones during a recent appearance on Sirius XM’s Lunch With Bruce podcast, explaining that he tries to stick to gay bars in an attempt to avoid the “aggressive dick swinging in hetero bars.” According to Craig, the lack of straight male machismo in gay bars means he’s less likely to wind up in a bar brawl, which apparently is a problem for him in hetero environments.

“I’ve been going to gay bars for as long as I can remember,” he told host Bruce Bozzi. “One of the reasons: because I don’t get into fights in gay bars that often.” Apparently Craig would end up “in a punch-up” at bars “quite a lot” in his younger days, so he made the switch to gay bars in attempt to avoid any unnecessary brawls.

Personally, I’m a little confused and slightly alarmed by the seeming inevitability with which Craig seems to recall falling into fights in straight male environments. Like, if just being a straight man in a bar around other straight men is enough to start a public fight with a stranger, maybe you’re the problem, not the environment? Then again, I’ve never been a straight man in a bar, so what would I know?

Besides, there were other things Craig liked about gay bars — some maybe more troubling than others! For one thing, he appreciated the relaxed, accepting environment such establishments tend to provide. “Everybody was chill, everybody,” he said. “You didn’t really have to sort of state your sexuality. It was okay. And it was a very safe place to be.” Nice! Seems like a very normal and healthy thing to enjoy about a given environment in which you are a guest.

Unfortunately, the other thing Craig says he liked about gay bars was hitting on women, which he admits was something of an “ulterior motive.” According to Craig, gay bars are actually a great place to meet women, because “there are a lot of girls there for exactly the same reason I was there.” I would actually argue that most women at gay bars are probably not there to avoid getting into bar fights, but rather to avoid being hit on by sleazy straight dudes. Then again, I guess if the sleazy straight dude hitting on you at a gay bar is Daniel Craig, maybe you wouldn’t mind so much.

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