Geelong star Bailey Smith responds to Mad Monday backlash after Mitch Brown said ‘Heath Ledger’s way hotter’
Geelong star Bailey Smith has fired back after he was criticised for his social media posts during Geelong’s Mad Monday antics.
The AFL’s first openly bisexual player Mitch Brown called out Smith’s series of controversial Instagram posts during the Cats’ end-of-season celebrations, particularly an image of Smith and Patrick Dangerfield referencing the film Brokeback Mountain, captioned, “this is what losing a granny does to ya.”
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.In response, Brown posted a picture of Heath Ledger from Brokeback Mountain, writing, “Just for the record, Heath Ledger’s way hotter.”
He then followed up with another pointed remark: “Last time I checked, losing a Grand Final doesn’t make you gay, but being homophobic definitely makes you a loser.”
On Monday night, Smith appeared to reply with an Instagram story of Ledger raising his middle finger.
The fallout comes amid further controversy, with veteran journalist Caroline Wilson blasting Smith for an “insulting and sexist message” after he mocked her in a now-deleted Instagram post.
During the celebrations, Smith’s teammate Max Holmes arrived dressed as Wilson, a moment Smith posted online with the caption, “Caro has never looked better,” paired with a sweat droplets emoji.
Wilson’s criticism follows her previous comments, branding Smith a “brat” after an incident involving a female photographer at a training session.
Amid the drama, Geelong’s football boss Andrew Mackie addressed the club’s position, stating, “Obviously, we’re not perfect. We don’t stand here and pretend to be … Every now and then, there’s things that pop up that ideally don’t, but we can only learn and educate from here our players and our people.”
Mackie dismissed reports that the club had lost track of Smith, saying, “No, that wasn’t all factual – I was aware what he was up to.”
He reiterated confidence in the club’s management of Smith, adding, “But, like I said, I get the interest in Bailey. But him playing footy this year is a real success story for the game … we’re all not perfect. We’ve just got to continue to keep working together and those little moments that might bubble away, we’ve just got to keep on educating.”
