British couple thrown off Queen Mary 2 after 'anti-semitic' row

A British man and his Broadway producer wife have been ejected from the Queen Mary 2 after she responded angrily to an allegedly anti-Semitic comment made at the dinner table. Frederick Evans, 91, and his wife Gloria Sher, 82, were at a black tie dinner a few days into a five-week, $20,000 (£12,000) cruise when the trouble flared. According to Miss Sher, who is Jewish, another passenger told her to shut up and then said: "There are too many Jews on board."

Sher, admits she got angry, shouting back, "F- - k you!" and "How dare you insult me!" before storming off to her stateroom. She said the following morning the captain came to the room and told the couple, who live in Manhattan, that they had insulted another passenger and would have to leave the ship. Miss Sher said: "He told two seniors we had to get off in Quebec and make our way home. We begged him not to do this."

The couple were eventually allowed to remain on board for another six days until the ship passed through New York but had to stay in their cabin. Miss Sher produced the 1970s musical Shenandoah which won two Tony Awards. She said: "I was treated with no respect and unbelievably rude and shockingly terrible. I've been sick ever since. It has ruined our lives. It's changed us forever."

Mr Evans said the captain had acted like a modern day Captain Bligh. However, the Cunard cruise line disputed the couple's version of events and issued a statement in which it said they had engaged in "multiple incidences of disrespectful and disruptive behavior towards crew members and other guests." The cruise line said it "fully supported" the captain's decision and was refunding the couple $839 (£530).