Feminist backlash as Michelle Yeoh dismissed as a 'Bond girl' for secret agent role in 007 film Tomorrow Never Dies...
during BBC Woman's Hour By CHRIS HASTINGS Published: 18:46 EST, 23 November 2024 | Updated: 18:46 EST, 23 November 2024 e-mail View comments Michelle Yeoh 's depiction of a 'kick ass' secret agent in the 1997 film Tomorrow Never Dies signalled a sea change in the way the 007 franchise depicted its female characters. But now the 62-year-old has found herself at the centre of a sexism row after BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour appeared to dismiss her achievements - by describing her as a former 'Bond girl'. Critics say that the term used by presenter Nuala McGovern in the introduction to an interview with the star bears no relation to what Ms Yeoh actually did in the movie - which included performing some of her own stunts.
Last night, Dame Jenni Murray , who presented Woman's Hour until 2020, said: 'For me, 'Bond girl' can only apply to a woman with whom [ James Bond ] went to bed and even then should not be used for any female character, regardless of bedability, post 1972.' Ms Yeoh's portrayal of the Chinese agent Wai Lin in the film –which starred Pierce Brosnan as 007 – could hardly be further removed from the more passive Bond heroines played by the likes of Britt Ekland, Jane Seymour and Jill St John in the 1960s and 1970s. The character Wai Lin was a skilled weapons expert who could more than handle herself in a fight - and was Bond's equal in every way.
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