Crowe slams flight attendant abuse claims

Oscar winner Russell Crowe has hit back at allegations he threw a fit over the in-flight food he was served on a private jet during a promotional tour for his latest film.

A flight attendant who served the actor on a chartered jet claims he was furious when his wife Danielle Spencer was given the only serving of a satay chicken meal he had wanted while on a flight to promote the film A Good Year.

Crowe's Los Angeles lawyers have issued a five-page denial slamming the allegations of the unnamed flight attendant, who says Crowe became enraged when he woke up from a nap and realised his wife had nabbed his dinner request.

In her claim the flight attendant explains: "He said to me: 'If I tell you I want something, you put it aside for me or wake me up. Is there some kind of language barrier here?'"

The actor's attorney, John H Lavely, has rubbished the allegations and insists movie studio public relations sources have confirmed Crowe was "nothing less than a model citizen during the publicity tour".

Crowe is renowned for his volatile temper. In 2005 he threw a phone at a hotel clerk in New York City after he was unable to place an international call to his wife in Australia.