Jonathan Bailey Surprises Regulars At ACON’s Monthly Bingay Night

In between being 2025’s Sexiest Man Alive and the hottest box office star of the year, Jonathan Bailey popped by the Beresford as a special guest for ACON’s monthly Bingay fundraiser on Wednesday night.

You read that right: the Wicked and Jurassic World star ducked by the Surry Hills pub while visiting Australia with family, much to the delight of the local gays and ACON staff.

“We were thrilled to have Jonathan Bailey join us at Bingay,” said Bingay producer Maria Hristodoulou. “He was so lovely and such a nice guy. He interacted with the crowd, spun the barrel and even did some cheeky callbacks.

“We love that his visit was a big surprise for our Bingay guests – some of them had dressed up as Wicked characters, and we were played music from the Wicked films through the night. It was a great evening.”

Held monthly and hosted by Charisma Belle and Naomi Palmer, Bingay has been running for 26 years, becoming an important community event and fundraiser for ACON’s programs and services.

Shining his superstardom on a vital cause

Funds from Wednesday evening’s event went towards ACON’s annual fundraising campaign, the Red Ribbon Appeal, running through the rest of November in the lead up to World AIDS Day on 1 December.

The money raised goes on to support community programs that promote HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care across NSW, while also strengthening the community connections that have always been central to ending HIV transmissions and supporting people living with it.

“Having stars like Jonathan Bailey visit Bingay helps us shine a light on the work ACON does to support the health of our communities,” said Hristodoulou. “We were delighted to host him as our special guest and are grateful for his time and participation.”

Bailey’s no stranger to a bit of charity work, and is planning to take a break from acting over 2026 to focus on his on his LGBTQ+ charity, The Shameless Fund.

Launched in June 2024, the charity aims to funnel resources into grassroots and global LGBTQ+ initiatives, particularly in spaces where funding is scarce.

“There’s so many people that want to do brilliant stuff who feel like they can’t,” he told People, “and I know the LGBT sector is under immense threat at the moment. So it’s been amazing to meet people who have the expertise and see potential that I could have only dreamed of.”