Anthony Callea Claims Being Outed By Ian "Dicko" Dickson on Australian Idol

 Anthony Callea has recently been reminising his experience as a contestant on Australia Idol within his new memoir. 

He claims the judge Ian "Dicko" Dickson had allegedly tried to out him on television.

He appeared in season 2 of the show in 2004, and had yet to reveal his sexuality publicly at the time. Dickson has since addressed the concerns that he had attempted to out the star.

Callea wrote in his memoir that the judge “seemed more concerned about my sexuality than I was,” claiming he was relentless in his efforts and tried different tactics in hopes cameras would capture Callea’s announcement.

“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).”

Anthony came runner-up behind Casey Donovan, going on to release his debut single, a cover of 'The Prayer' by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli. This won an ARIA Award for Highest Selling Single the next year.

The star has admitted to not holding any grudges towards the judge, as he believes there were no bad intentions.

“I get that times and social temperatures change, and in hindsight, it was not out of the ordinary behaviour from him."

Dickson spoke about the incident on the 'TV Reload' podcast in 2021 saying, “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."

Callea confirmed his sexuality in 2007, three years since appearing on the talent show. In 2014, he married his partner, 'Home and Away' actor Tim Campbell, after seven years together.