American Idiot actor Linden Furnell sacked for 'inappropriate behaviour' towards colleague

An actor in the hit musical American Idiot says he has been sacked for "inappropriate behaviour" on the eve of its opening night in Melbourne, "without so much as a conversation" with the production company.

Linden Furnell was cast as the character Johnny, in the rock musical based on the album by punk band Green Day.

But he revealed in a Facebook post he had been sacked from the role on Monday due to "serious misconduct", saying he was not "asked to explain, give my account, dispute it or attempt resolution".

Furnell said he had made a "crude allusion to menstruation" to a fellow cast member during a scene on "a hot night in an old theatre".

"It was in poor taste and a lame attempt at humour. The kind of thing you say to make your friends go, 'Euugghhh gross'," he wrote in the post.

Furnell said he apologised to his colleague, who took the issue to management, and he was subsequently fired.

"I found out later that same night via a text conversation with her that it had made her very uncomfortable and thrown off her show," he said.

"Naturally, when I discovered the fact I apologised immediately and said that I would do what was necessary to avoid making that mistake again and reassured that I definitely did not intend to cause hurt or discomfort.

"I made a poor judgement call, assumed too much comfort in a work friendship. I apologised again for the upset caused."

Actor sacked 'in the interest of health and safety'

The production company behind the musical, shake & stir theatre co, said the decision to dismiss Furnell was not taken lightly.

"Mr Furnell's dismissal was a consequence of breaching the company's 'Statement of Zero Tolerance to Inappropriate Behaviour' previously communicated to him and all other company members by company management," it said in a statement.

"Accordingly, and in the interests of a healthy and safe workplace, the company decided to act.

"For shake & stir theatre co, the wellbeing and safety of all our company members and all our employees is our top priority."

It said Furnell had advised his acceptance of the decision in writing.

The actor said his colleague "apparently didn't intend for this [his dismissal] to happen, but it did happen and here we are".

"The climate is a sensitive one and there appears to be little room for nuance, intention, or even an accurate portrayal of events," he said.

"The producers had a knee-jerk reaction, probably as a form of damage control/prevention and I found myself fired without so much as a conversation."

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