Female academic Lea Ypi hits back at theatre critic who said her appearance at lecture was so distracting he had to go and pay for sex at a massage parlour

A top female academic has hit out at a theatre critic after he claimed one of her lectures inspired a sleazy trip to a massage parlour.

Political theory expert Lea Ypi sparked a flood of social media outrage by posting a copy of Lloyd Evans' lecherous remarks after her Cambridge talk on revolutions.

Evans told in a Spectator article how he lost control of his 'lunatic libido' as he listened to her lecture at the elite university's Downing College.

In the piece he remarked on the London School of Economics professor's 'blonde hair spilling over her shoulders' and claimed he was so distracted her slept with a Chinese prostitute afterwards.

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'.

Professor Ypi is an expert in political theory, has degrees in philosophy and literature, and previously lectured at Nuffield College, Oxford. 

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 - said: 'Her blonde hair spilling over her shoulders absorbed far more of my attention than her political reflections.'

'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 to an 'already arranged... social rendezvous at a private business location'.

He explained 'how it works' - handing 'over a roll of banknotes to a concierge at a desk who ushers you into a softly lit room where your companion awaits you'.

Evans said he met a woman called Shea, who was 'petite' and 'buxom'. He added that she 'looked Chinese'.

She is said to have 'rubbed hot wax' onto his shoulders before ordering him to 'flip onto my back as she dimmed the lights and raised one eyebrow at me suggestively'. 

He then talks about 'negotiations' before describing at length how he paid for the encounter.

His article sparked condemnation from academics and commentators, with Prof Ypi's furious response attracting more than 3,600 likes, 600 reposts, 400 comments and 316 bookmarks from stunned mostly-female followers.

Darwin College commented: 'Absolutely appalled to see this Lea. Your fascinating, beautifully crafted lecture was a hugely appreciated highlight of the college's cultural year.

'We hope your memory of the event won't be tainted by an audience member using it to write something so crude and offensive.'

Naomi Waltham-Smith called Evans' piece 'utterly depressing and pathetic, yet deeply unpleasant.'

Historian Helene von Bismark added: 'This is awful, unacceptable, misogynistic trash'.

Professor Ben Ansell, an Oxford lecturer, called it 'dismal, embarrassing, chauvinist rubbish', while Professor Linda Connolly, said simply: 'Ugh!'

Micah G Allen, a professor of psychiatry based in Denmark, added: 'This is so disgusting, I'm sorry you were subjected to this. What women in academia go through is a disgrace.'

A Mrs Dayglo said: 'I'm so sorry you have someone like that perving over you. And that he god paid for writing that.'

Fellow academic Colin Wight added: 'Just such a weird piece to write. I can't see the point of it.'

Doctor Charlotte Lydia Riley, a historian, added: 'This is horrific. I'm so sorry.'

Others remarked on not just the comments about Prof Ypi, but also about Evans description of his encounter at the massage parlour.

Feminist columnist Hadley Freeman wrote: 'Re that revolting Spectator ­article people are rightly outraged by the one-handed writer's comments about the academic. But it's how he writes about the 'brisk workout' with the sex worker (who could well be trafficked) that enraged me. Paying for sex is abusive and unforgivable.'

The writer Julie Bindel was equally forthright: 'What a disgusting man Lloyd Evans is. He should be sent to an island inhabited only by crocodiles.' 

Evans told the Mail's Richard Kay last night that he was bewildered by the reaction to his piece. 

'No, I didn't anticipate it,' he said.

Evans, who has been writing for The Spectator since the 1980s, is no stranger to sexual shenanigans. 

He has previously visited the same subject in other Spectator columns, writing in January how about a 'petite buxom ­figure' who 'vaulted on top of me, straddling my thighs' as she gave him a vigorous Thai massage.

In the early 2000s the magazine was nicknamed the 'Sextator', such were the stories of intrigue, infidelity and casual affairs - involving various ­members of staff and a Cabinet minister - under the then ­editorship of Boris Johnson.

It provided material for a laugh-out-loud farce called Who's The Daddy? staged in a London theatre and written by Evans himself.

Last night Evans's collaborator on the play and fellow Spectator columnist Toby Young said: 'I am looking forward to this scandal blowing up out of all proportion and then going to see Lloyd's very amusing play about the whole affair.'