'The Candyman's retro act is becoming more and more embarrassing.'

Watching the over-the-top antics at Travers Beynon’s latest party – a $500,000 Gold Coast extravaganza that featured bikini-clad women, bazookas and an elephant –  it was hard not to feel a little bit sorry for the self-proclaimed party king.

For all intents and purposes the tobacco store millionaire – better known by his Instagram name Candyman – is ‘living the life’. He has money. He has a rock-hard gym bod and a voluptuous wife, and he’s often surrounded by a bevy of bikini babes who like to lounge around his pool, Playboy-mansion-style. He also has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, which makes him, ya know, “relevant”.

They say an elephant never forgets, let’s hope A Current Affair know the Candyman doesn’t either #candyman #elephant #candyshopmansion #alwaysremember

A photo posted by Travers Beynon (@candyshopmansion) on Dec 6, 2015 at 6:28pm PST

If you believe his hyperbole, Travers is a hard-working businessman who just happens to enjoy a life of excess and good clean fun on the side.

It certainly makes for pretty pictures on Instagram. If you haven’t had a look, it’s a string of posts of women with barely covered breasts, sometimes being led around on leashes. In his Halloween update, four women lie naked on the floor of the mansion covered in blood, as he answers the door to a ‘cop’, weapon still in hand.  Forgive me for not being all that impressed.

The Candyman and his mega-lifestyle may be popular with his 455,000 plus insta followers but for the rest of us his antics are Benny Hill-meets-Hugh Hefner-meets-Donald Trump. There’s something dated and more than a little forced about his whole gold-plated, Ferrari opulence. And how can you really take someone seriously who needs so many other people to validate his lifestyle?

After a bizarre party on Saturday night which included women in all states of undress, a staged invasion by armed “fun police” and a bazooka attack on an actor posing as an A Current Affair reporter, the Candyman just wants people to relax and enjoy the fun.

You can see some of A Current Affair’s feature on Beynon here:

But while I’m all for Travers living exactly the type of life he sees fit, I’m not as keen on the implication that anyone who thinks Travers is a little off in his objectification of women is a wowser.

Is it really a case of the fun police spoiling the good times, or of Travers employing the same sort of argument people used to use to defend sexual harassment? Remember when THAT was just a bit of harmless fun and girls who complained about being groped were just silly for causing a fuss?

No-one wants to live in a country where the Candyman can’t make choices about his own life, especially when the women involved are consenting adults. If it floats your boat to be led round on a leash, then go for it.

Yes, we could be outraged by a man who pretends to shoot at reporters, walks women on leashes and thinks peak sophistication is a gold-plated Lamborghini, but really, he’s just a man who’s trying really, really hard to impress you.

Does he score an invite to your next pool party? Because I think I’ll make sure mine gets lost in the post.