Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson has expressed regret for calling Anthony Callea gay while filming season two of Australian Idol in 2004.
Callea, 40, recently made headlines with the release of his memoir Behind the voiceclaiming the controversial judge, 60, wanted him to appear on live TV.
Dickson confirmed the singer’s claims on The Kyle And Jackie O Show on Thursday, saying he’s sorry he put Callea in such an awkward position.
“I could clearly see he was gay and I kept pushing him and said, ‘Look, we’ve worked with artists and boy bands where they had gay members, but they had to keep it quiet,'” he explained. .
“When you come to us, we are your record company, we can help you live the life you want to live and keep it quiet. But it’s better if we know.” And he just wasn’t ready to give that up,’ he explained.
Ian ‘Dicko’ Dickson, 60, has expressed regret for calling 40-year-old Anthony Callea gay while filming season two of Australian Idol in 2004.
Dickson admitted it was “not his place to let Callea out,” but insisted he had good intentions.
“I love the gay community and I don’t understand why anyone would want to hide that. But in the end it wasn’t my job – it wasn’t up to me when he came out so he was absolutely right to comment [in his memoir],’ he said.
In his autobiography, Callea recalled how Dickson “seemed more concerned about my sexuality than I was” and tried various tactics to force him out “as part of the show.”
Callea (pictured) recently made headlines with the release of his memoir Behind The Voice, in which he claimed the controversial judge, 60, wanted him to appear on live TV
Dickson confirmed the singer’s claims on The Kyle And Jackie O Show on Thursday, saying he’s sorry he put Callea in such an awkward position
“One night, just after I finished my performance, the judges gave their comments, and Dicko said something along the lines of he saw my target audience as ‘grandmas, girls and gays,'” which I think was his way of putting it “G word (among a few others),” Callea wrote.
He went on to say that Dickson “didn’t get what he wanted” despite his relentless pursuit to fuel the rumors circulating at the time.
Despite the awkward situation he found himself in, Callea said he received a lot of support from other contestants, judges and staff on the show who helped him brush off Dickson’s comments.
In his autobiography, Callea recalled how Dickson “seemed more concerned about my sexuality than I was” and tried various tactics to force him out “as part of the show.”
Nevertheless, after nearly two decades, the Australian Idol runner-up said he forgives Dickson for his actions and believes he had the “right intentions.”
“I understand times and social temperatures change, and in hindsight it wasn’t unusual behavior from him,” he said.
“He still gave me constructive criticism, which I mostly agree with, no matter how much they were driven by the theater of the show,” he added.
In 2021, the former Australian Idol judge painted a slightly different picture when he spoke on the TV Reload podcast about Anthony’s homosexuality while competing in the singing competition.
He claimed he told Callea, who was just 21 at the time, that he could help him hide his sexuality, despite the hitmaker insisting he wasn’t gay.
The singer said Dickson “seemed more concerned about my sexuality than I did” and tried various tactics to force him out “as part of the show.” (Pictured: Dickson on Australian Idol)
“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 fuck whoever you want and keep a public persona for your career if you choose to,” said Dicko.
Dickson insisted he just wanted to reach out and help Callea, but admitted he should have let the music artist come out on his own time.
Callea confirmed his sexuality in 2007, three years after coming second to Casey Donovan on season two of Australian Idol.
In 2014, he married actor Tim Campbell in New Zealand after seven years of dating.
Nevertheless, after nearly two decades, the Australian Idol runner-up said he forgives Dickson for his actions and believes he had the “right intentions.” (Pictured: Callea performing on Australian Idol)