Sex Pistols star John Lydon has been branded "rude" and "sexist" for yelling at a female Tv host during an interview in Australia this week (beg08Apr13).

The veteran rocker appeared on The Project on Tuesday (09Apr13) to promote his tour Down Under with his band Public Image Ltd, but the chat descended into chaos when host Carrie Bickmore asked him about late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Lydon, also known as Johnny Rotten, yelled at Bickmore, "Shut up, shut up, shut up... Hey missus! Whoever you are, you need to be quiet, your voice is too loud for me... You sound like one of them (sic) dreadful damn birds I don't like. You be polite... you've got to learn what manners and respect is (sic)."

The outburst prompted a shocked response from Bickmore and her fellow presenters, who quickly terminated the interview. Later in the show, panellist Andrew Rochford branded Lydon "a flat out, sexist, misogynist pig", while Bickmore said in a radio interview on Wednesday (10Apr13), "I sat quietly, gave him his time and let him hang himself. I woke up this morning and thought 'What a d**k!'... I know he's controversial and I know he's got this reputation... (But) there's a line between being controversial and being downright rude... It was rude and arrogant and sexist."

The Tv interview was not the only controversy stirred up by Lydon Down Under on Tuesday - earlier in the day, he burst into a foul-mouthed rant during a phone interview with ABC Melbourne radio broadcaster Red Symons, which ended with the star hanging up on the host.

As Symons attempted to ask the punk singer a question, Lydon began yelling, "Shut your f**king mouth! You a**e hole!... You only want to talk about yourself... You 've got your career, I've got mine. I think mine is a bit more interesting than yours... Goodbye."

Symons concluded by saying, "John Lydon. Still rotten."