'I don't feel like much of a sex pervert': Theatre critic defends himself after ... trends now

The theatre writer who sparked fury after claiming a lecture by a female academic inspired a sleazy trip to a massage parlour defended his actions today, telling MailOnline: 'I don't feel like much of a sex pervert.'

Lloyd Evans revealed in The Spectator that he visited a Chinese prostitute after becoming distracted by the appearance of political theory expert Lea Ypi at a talk in Cambridge.

The 61-year-old claimed he had lost control of his 'lunatic libido' after seeing the London School of Economics professor's 'blonde hair spilling over her shoulders', before going on to sleep with a Chinese prostitute.

The article sparked an angry response from the Albanian-born professor, as well as others on social media who called it 'horrific', 'crude' and 'appalling'.

However, Evans has hit back at his critics as he spoke to MailOnline on his doorstep at his East London home. He said: 'I've had a lot of negative reaction unfortunately so I'm not going to be talking much more about it.

'People have been calling me 'sex pervert' and this and that on social media but I don't feel much like one. As for the notion that the woman I visited may have been trafficked - as some have suggested online - I'm not going to get into any of that.'

The eccentric writer apologised for not being more forthcoming and added: 'I'm sorry that you've come this far for nothing... can I compensate you another way? Would you like a chocolate bar? Or a beer? I've given up drinking you see.'

Evans said that he had been inspired to include Professor Ypi in the article because 'I just find clever and articulate women very attractive and she was physically attractive and that made me feel a bit lonely and then I ended up in a sauna bath.'

He claimed he was trying to expose the polar opposites of 'intellectual high-flying political philosophy and a sexual encounter', adding that he found the latter 'much more satisfying and enjoyable'.

He added that Professor Ypi was 'really funny and sharp and witty' and that this induced feelings of longing towards her.

Asked if he had any regrets over the article, Mr Evans replied: 'It's a bit unfortunate, I have had people calling me a sex pervert on Twitter which I think is strange.

'So this person, a complete stranger, has read about my romantic life in a magazine and has then made a public effort to notify me that he considered me as sex pervert.

'Well my message to him is get out of the basement and get a bit of action, even if you have to pay for it.'

Professor Ypi, an expert in political theory who has degrees in philosophy and literature, and previously lectured at Nuffield College, Oxford, hit out at the piece on social media. 

She wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: 'Advice for scholars. Next time you lecture on Kant and revolutions at 'Downing (@DarwinCollege) Cambridge, make sure your hair is neatly tied and that you're not blonde.

'Or else your research impact will be on the @spectator libido section.'

In the article, which was headlined My (surprisingly) decent proposal, Evans - who is a sketch-writer for The Spectator - began by saying men feel like 'being chained to a lunatic' in relation to their libido.

He wrote how he had dropped into 'Downing College' for a lecture given by  Professor Ypi - the talk actually took place at Darwin College - but son became distracted by her appearance.

 'Her blonde hair spilling over her shoulders absorbed far more of my attention than her political reflections,' he wrote.

'I was desperate to speak to her afterwards, but I had no way to orchestrate a meeting.'

Evans, who has written for The Spectator since the 1980s, then described going

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