Australian gay idol?

In case you were wondering, Australian Idol contestant Anthony Callea is not gay. The singer announced he’s definitely not a friend of Dorothy in response to rumours circulating on the internet.

I’m not gay. I don’t know why people say I am. A lot of people just make up rubbish, he told The Sunday Mail. The same thing was levelled at Guy [Sebastian].

When asked what he thought about his gay following, Anthony said in TV Week, It’s fine by me. Whoever buys the albums, I don’t care. It’s cool. The diminutive 21-year-old from Melbourne confirmed he likes the ladies, but while he gets plenty of phone numbers from female fans he said, I don’t think I’ll be ringing them. I just don’t have time for it.

On one internet discussion board, according to The Sunday Mail, a fan compared watching Anthony on Australian Idol to watching Playing It Straight, where viewers attempt to guess whether contestants are gay or straight. Another wag described those voting for Anthony as poor deluded girls who believe he’s not gay.

It’s no surprise to hear people might mistake Anthony for one of us. He’s ridiculously cute, incredibly clean-cut, wears too much hair product, has manicured eyebrows and is, well, Italian. He also has the camp occupation of working as a vocal coach at the performing arts school Melbourne Dance Xchange. Then there are the reports from his housemates at Idol HQ that he’s often moody and likes to keep to himself -“ typical closeted behaviour. Plus he’s secretive. When asked on the official Idol website to reveal something about himself no one would know, he said, That’s for me to know and you to find out. Hmmm.

On last Sunday’s show the judges advised Anthony to try to appeal more to a gay audience by acting less like a puppy dog and being more masculine, because that’s what we gays like. They said a pop musician has only made it once they’ve cracked the gay market, because as Queer Eye has taught the world, gay community members are the barometers of what’s hot. Let’s see next week if Anthony, now in the final four of the competition, attempts to butch it up to attract the queens.

Australian Idol screens on Network Ten at 7:30pm Sundays and Mondays, while Inside Idol screens at 7:30pm Thursdays.