SYDNEY, Australia - Veteran comedian Jerry Lewis is under fire again from a homosexual rights advocate for using on Australian television an abbreviation of the same anti-gay slur he apologized for using on a U.S. telethon a year ago.
The 82-year-old King of Comedy dropped the slur when he was asked by a Network Ten national TV reporter following a news conference in Sydney on Friday for his opinion on the sport of cricket.
"Oh, cricket? It's a fag game. What are you, nuts?" Lewis replied.
The network broadcast the comment in full on its Friday evening news bulletin along with footage of Lewis's effeminate and timid handling of an imaginary cricket bat.
Lewis apologized in September last year for using the term "illiterate faggot" in Las Vegas during his annual Labour Day telethon that raises money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
In a statement released a day later, he described the slur as a "bad choice of words."
Gay activist blog Queers United called for Lewis to again apologize.
"He has apologized in the past for using the homophobic slur, maybe it's time for him to apologize again and put an end to his homophobic stand-up routine," it said.
The comedian's Australian spokeswoman, Julie Cavanagh, said Saturday that Lewis did not intend to comment.
Lewis held Friday's news conference to promote his latest stage show that is touring Australia. It is a retrospective of his career that includes show tunes with a 24-piece band, excerpts from his scores of movies and television shows and his trademark slapstick comedy.
U.S.-based Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation spokesman Damon Romine said his organization would examine Lewis's words before commenting.
