Wil Anderson Talks 2017 Arrest: 'I Didn't Want My Friends Thinking I Behaved Like An Arsehole'

Wil Anderson has opened up on his highly-publicised arrest at Wagga Wagga airport last year while appearing on this week's The Music Podcast With Dave & Neil.

The renowned comedian discussed the episode at length — which saw Qantas allege he was disruptive and failed to follow basic crew instructions — and how it eventually formed his latest stand-up show, Wilegal.

"It took me a while to get there," Anderson said.

"I do think at the time that I was aware that I had been presented with something unique.

"I think what was probably the greatest gift of all was it had all the scandal of a real thing but I got cleared of it all which meant that I was gonna be able to be honest about… everything that happened because I wasn't gonna have to lie about anything or not say something because there was some sort of legal thing… "

While there were no charges made after the arrest, the Melbourne comic said he had concerns despite not reading any reports on the incident; specifically what his parents and friends might think.

"It got all cleared up pretty quick by the airline and cops but the truth of it is that… when the cops or the airline clear you, they don't give you a written assessment of what actually happened that you can send to your parents," Anderson said.

"You worry, because the way it gets reported and stuff, you're like 'I don't want my parents to think that I'm being some dick to strangers'. That would disappoint them and it would disappoint me that they thought that that was the case."

He continued, "But that's not the point… [my parents] were great and if I had done something they would have been great.

"But the problem was… I'm a professional storyteller. I'm a liar by trade. I change facts to make them more convenient or more funny or more interesting all the time. The truth of it is that no one is gonna believe my version of the truth of it.

"So in a situation like this, what you realise is that you're not very trustworthy. I can tell you what happened but why would you believe me? I make shit up all the time.

"The thing that probably bothered me the most was that people who were close to me might've thought that I had behaved like an arsehole. And as soon as I had some independent sort of, corroboration, that I hadn't, I didn't mind too much about the other stuff."

In the latest The Music Podcast, Anderson also discusses the new season of Gruen, his take on Australian comedy in 2018 and more. 

Check it out below or stream it on iTunes.