Last summer, photos of one Orlando Bloom paddleboarding in the buff with then-girlfriend Katy Perry went viral online, leading people on the internet to lose all semblance of chill.
Aside from possibly being embarrassed about the photos, and seemingly poking fun at the incident on Instagram, Bloom hasn’t said much about the photos. But in a new interview with Elle UK, the actor opened up, and even broke the ice by joking about the pics.
“Are we going to talk about my penis?” he said, before letting out a laugh.
Bloom admitted the photos took him by surprise, noting, “I wouldn’t have put myself in that position if I’d thought it would happen.”
“I’ve been photographed a million times in a million ways. I have a good radar,” he added. “We’d been completely alone for five days. Nothing around us. There was no way anyone could get anything. So I had a moment of feeling free.”
When asked if he thought the response to the images reflected society’s double standard ― for instance, if the photos were of a naked woman, there’s a good chance we would have seen plenty of outrage ― Bloom admitted he hadn’t given it much thought.
“I didn’t take it that deep, darlin’,” he said. “What can I tell you? Note to self: you’re never free. Ha!”
The actor also opened up about his split from Perry in the interview, telling the mag they’re still friends.
“It’s good. We’re all grown-up. She happens to be someone who is very visible, but I don’t think anybody cares what I’m up to. Nor should they,” he added. “It’s between us. It’s better to set an example for kids and show that [break-ups] don’t have to be about hate.”
To read more from Bloom’s interview, head over to Elle UK.
