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An openly gay Australian comedian has risen to the defence of Geelong star Bailey Smith after the 24-year-old midfielder was criticised for being ‘homophobic’ following a social media post he published during the Cats Mad Monday post-season celebrations.
ABC star Josh Thomas took to Instagram to tell people to ‘leave Bailey alone,’ adding ‘we’ve got to stop calling people that aren’t homophobic, homophobic.’
Smith, who placed third in this year’s Brownlow Medal voting count following a standout season, arrived at the post-season party dressed as Brad Pitt’s character Tristan Ludlow from the movie ‘Legends of the Fall’.
Other members of the Cats’ AFL squad also donned fancy dress costumes, with Max Holmes mimicking respective footy journalist Caroline Wilson with his outfit, while Brad Close copied renowned Geelong superfan, The Catman, by painting his face like a cat and donning a headband.
Smith, though, was blasted by former player Mitch Brown - who made history earlier this year for coming out as the AFL’s first openly bisexual player - after he made reference to the film Brokeback Mountain.
The 24-year-old published a photo of himself and Patrick Dangerfield on Instagram, with the latter appearing to place his hand on Smith’s stomach. The former Western Bulldog captioned the post: ‘Or Brokeback Mountain, depends on how ya look at it.’
Openly gay Australian comedian Josh Thomas has hit back at Bailey Smith's critics online
Bailey Smith (left, pictured with Patrick Dangerfield) has been criticised after the footy star appeared to make a reference to Brokeback Mountain on his Instagram. The Geelong player had dressed with a western theme, before writing: 'This is what losing a Granny does to ya,' on his Instagram
Thomas took to Instagram to tell Aussies to 'leave Bailey (pictured) alone' after the footy star has received widespread flak
It came after Mitch Brown, who is the AFL's first openly bisexual player, called Smith 'a loser' and added 'last time I checked losing a Grand Final doesn't make you gay'
Smith added: ‘This is what losing a granny does to ya. Alright, phone away now. Bye.’
However, Brown appeared disappointed by the Instagram post, taking a swipe at Smith for his Brokeback Mountain reference, writing: ‘Just for the record, Heath Ledger’s way hotter.’ Ledger starred in the 2006 film alongside Jake Gyllenhall.
He added in a separate post: ‘In all seriousness, though, guys do better. Last time I checked, losing a Grand Final doesn’t make you gay, but being homophobic definitely makes you a loser.’
Aussie TV star Thomas has subsequently hit back at the Geelong star’s critics online.
‘Leave Bailey alone,’ he wrote on his Instagram story, adding a photo of the Geelong star. ‘Bringing people down is the least empowering way to find comfort in your queerness.’
Thomas added: ‘We’ve got to stop calling people that aren’t homophobic, homophobic. It widens the divide and alienates people.
‘It gets reported so loudly that it makes it look like queer people are oversensitive or are anti-fun. I don’t want our story hijacked like that!
‘He [Smith] never said losing the Grand Final makes you gay. That intention was insinuated by other people and then was ran with as raw fact.
Thomas went on to add: ‘Bringing people down is the least empowering way to find comfort in your queerness'
Thomas then published a message in which he stated 'we've got to stop calling people that aren't homophobic, homophobic'
Smith reached out to Thomas on Instagram and appeared to show his appreciation for showing his support to the footy star
‘The post is now being called homophobic in headlines without any context.
‘Being called a homophobe on the internet is very serious!!!’ Thomas said.
‘It launches a swarm of people to attack. It’s brutal. We can’t just be out there doing that.’
Thomas, who has appeared in several TV shows, including ‘Please Like Me’ and ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’, also received a response from Smith, after he published the Instagram stories online.
Smith privately messaged him to write: ‘Love you,’ to which Thomas replied: ‘I love youuuuu.’
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Smith's agents for comment.
Both Geelong and the AFL have since broken their silence on the Mad Monday celebrations, with the Cats having now revealed they will be canning fancy dress post-season celebrations in the future.
'Geelong Football Club sincerely apologises for the offence caused following our end of season gathering on Monday,' a club statement, released on Tuesday, read.
'Certain costumes and associated social media posts were inappropriate and a significant error of judgment, and do not reflect our Team of All commitment.
Smith (left, with AFL CEO Andrew Dillon) placed third in this year's Brownlow Medal race after a standout season for the Cats
Earlier on Tuesday, AFL general manager Greg Swann (pictured) explained that he 'wasn't thrilled’ by what took place during the club’s end-of-season function
Geelong, meanwhile, have issued a statement to apologise for the players' antics, and will be educating members of the squad on 'expected standards'
'The Club has decided future post-season events will not continue in this current form, and we will take this moment to further educate our people on expectations and Club and community standards.'
It comes as AFL general manager Gregg Swann explained that the league would be deferring to the Cats to 'deal with' the situation.
‘Look, we have spoken to Geelong and had a chat to (chief executive) Steve Hocking,' Swann said.
'They're actually dealing with it. We've always - well, certainly in my time - we think the clubs are the best people to deal with it, their players.
'We're not thrilled, obviously, with what happened - and nor are Geelong.
'So they're going to take some steps. I think there'll be something coming out this afternoon around that.
'And so we've pushed it down to them to deal with, so we've had some good chats to them about it.'
