Australian Idol Star Anthony Callea Claims Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson Tried To Out Him On TV
Image: Ian 'Dicko' Dickson and Anthony Callea (Image: Facebook).
Australian Idol star and ARIA award-winning singer Anthony Callea has revealed that around two decades ago judge Ian “Dicko” Dickson tried to out him on television.
Callea was 21 when took part in season two of Australian Idol in 2004 and was named runner-up, with Casey Donovan winning the reality talent show. Callea, who came from a conservative family, was not out. He eventually came out in 2007 and married actor Tim Campbell in New Zealand in 2014.
In his new memoir Behind The Voice, Callea (40), claimed that Dicko, who was a judge on the reality show, made many attempts to out him during the competition.
He Seemed More Concerned About My Sexuality
Dicko “seemed more concerned about my sexuality than I was”, Callea wrote in his memoir.
“One night, right after I’d finished my performance, the judges were giving their comments, and Dicko said something along the lines of that he saw my target audience as being ”grannies, girls and gays”, which I guess was his way of throwing the ‘G’ word out there (alongside some others),” wrote Callea.
The singer said Dicko “didn’t get what he wanted” and he now forgives him for trying to force him to come out on TV. “I get that times and social temperatures change, and in hindsight, it was not out of the ordinary behaviour from him.”
Dicko Confesses He Tried To Out Anthony Callea
On Thursday, Dicko confirmed Callea’s claims. Asked on the Kyle & Jackie show by host Jackie “O” Henderson if he had tried to out Callea, Dicko responded: “Look, do you know what? I was”.
“I could clearly see he was gay and I kept pushing him and saying, ‘Look, we’ve worked with artists and boy bands where they have been gay members but they’ve had to keep it quiet. If you come out to us, we are your record company, we can help you have the life you want to lead and keep it quiet. But it’s better if we know.’ And he just wasn’t ready to give that up,” said Dicko.
“It really wasn’t up to me to get him to come out,” Dicko acknowledged. “I love the gay community and I don’t understand why anyone would want to hide that. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t my job – it wasn’t up to me when he came out, so he was absolutely right to comment.”
In a 2021 podcast, Dicko claimed that he wanted to help Callea hide his sexuality if he wanted. “We all knew Anthony was gay and I remember saying to him, ‘Look mate, we’re going to be your record company and we can help you live the life you want and shag who you want and keep a public persona for your career if that’s what you choose,” Dicko said.
