Sean Connery had dozens of roles in highly acclaimed productions, an Oscar for his role in The Untouchables, several Golden Globes, BAFTA awards, and numerous nominations. Today, he is most associated with his portrayal of James Bond, the world’s most famous agent, and still considered by many fans as the best in the role. He also starred in films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Name of the Rose, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Generations of women swooned over him for years. In 1962, just after filming Dr. No and before his rise to global fame, he married Australian actress Diane Cilento.
Sean Connery on Violence Against Women: He Saw Nothing Wrong with Slapping and "Spanking" Them
Three years later, in an interview with Playboy, Connery made a statement that still provokes justified outrage. He openly admitted that he saw no problem with slapping women. "I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with hitting a woman, although I don’t recommend doing it in the same way you’d hit a man" - he admitted. He added that slapping was "justified" when "all other alternatives fail and there have been plenty of warnings".
He didn’t retract this statement in 1987, nor in the late '90s when the topic of his views on violence against women resurfaced in interviews. In a conversation with Barbara Walters, he stated that "women are asking for a slap." In Vanity Fair, he commented that psychological violence is crueler. "Sometimes there are women who drive themselves to the brink. That’s what they seek, the final confrontation" - he added. However, in a 2006 interview with The Times of London, Connery claimed that his reflections had been "taken out of context". "I believe that no level of violence against women is ever justified, under any circumstances. Period" - he said.
Years Later, Sean Connery’s Wife Spoke Out About the Violence: "I Lost Consciousness for a Few Seconds"
It soon became clear that these weren’t just musings shared in the media. That same year, Diane Cilento published her autobiography My Nine Lives, in which she revealed after years of silence that she had been a victim of violence, with the perpetrator being her former husband. In an interview with Daily Mail, she recounted what she endured in 1965 - the same year Connery shocked with his Playboy interview.
"Once, in our room, in complete darkness, I felt a blow to my face, and I fell to the floor. I lost consciousness for a few seconds" - she recalled. She managed to escape and lock herself in the bathroom. "I spent the rest of the night on the bathroom floor, under a towel, whimpering in fear" - she admitted. She added that in the morning, she feared the press would find out about everything. And although she lost trust in Connery, their divorce didn’t happen until 1973.
