Angela Carbone posts message of support for husband Julian Carbone in wake of Instagram bikini scandal

The wife of a Burnside councillor who resigned over an Instagram bikini photo scandal has paid tributes to his work in an emotional show of support on social media.

Former councillor Julian Carbone is a gentleman who was subjected to “incredible nastiness” in his final days at Burnside, his wife has said in a show of support on Facebook.

Angela Carbone posted the message along with a photo on Friday.

It came after the long-serving Burnside councillor resigned over an Instagram post about a young girl posing in a bikini.

INSIDE STORY: How an Insta bikini photo took down a veteran councillor

“You were passionate, enthusiastic, dedicated and you actively listened to, engaged with, responded to and kept informed local residents within the Burnside community, over your time with Burnside council,” Mrs Carbone wrote.

“You are a gentleman, you are kind, caring, funny, cheerful and relatable to people from all walks of life. You are a great leader and are likeable to most people you meet.

The message posted to Facebook by Angela Carbone on Friday.

A photograph posted alongside Angela Carbone's message of support for her husband.

“In your final days as a Burnside Councillor you were subjected to such incredible nastiness, which seemed relentless. However during this time you have also received a tremendous amount of calls and messages of support from all areas of your life and additionally from members of the Burnside community. The past week has proved just how much support you do have and how much your work was appreciated and will be missed.”

Mr Carbone resigned on Thursday after a 17-year-old Adelaide Hills resident complained to Burnside Council, resulting in a $11,500 legal investigation which found he had breached its code of conduct.

Councillors voted on Tuesday night in Mr Carbone’s absence to order him to publicly apologise to the teenager and undergo social media training.

After three-days of sustained media coverage – triggered by an exclusive report in The Advertiser on Monday – the former fruit and vegetable wholesaler and Liberal Party member tendered his resignation to Burnside mayor Anne Monceaux on Thursday afternoon.

In a statement, Ms Monceaux said the media coverage surrounding Mr Carbone had “taken its toll on many people”.

“I am deeply saddened, in particular, by the impact that this may have had on the young woman involved and more broadly, others within our community.”

Ms Monceaux said two councillors had called for Mr Carbone’s resignation at the council meeting on Tuesday night which discussed the adverse findings against him.

“The past 48 hours have shown that many members of the community support that,” she said.

Ms Monceaux said she had accepted Mr Carbone’s written apology and resignation.

“I am pleased that council can now move on and continue the good work our council members have been doing for our community,” she said.

In a Facebook post, Mr Carbone said it had all been “one big unintentional mistake a lack of due diligence and just simply, naivety”.

“For all of this I am humbly sorry,” he said.

Julian Carbone’s resignation Facebook post

Mr Carbone also apologised for “any distasteful and inappropriate profiles that my social media platforms have been associated with”.

“None of this was intentional, on purpose or with any unwholesome or unsavoury motivations,” he said.

Mr Carbone initially denied he had posted the comment about bikinis in cold weather to the teenager who complained at 5.06am on November 27 last year, then claimed he had been hacked, sent it by mistake or a friend had done it as a prank.

“I love serving the people of Burnside, and I love my role on the Burnside Council,” he said.

“I would never ever ever knowingly do anything to jeopardise my role in the community.

Since The Advertiser revealed the code of conduct complaint on Monday, various examples of Mr Carbone’s questionable social media activity have emerged.

These include numerous accounts on several platforms featuring young women in various states of undress.

Screenshot from Burnside councillor Julian Carbone's Facebook page showing a photo of him speeding in his Hyundai Getz car at 130km/h in 2009.

Cr Carbone's Hickinbotham Instagram account was active until Thursday morning but has since been deleted. Picture: Instagram

Mr Carbone also used Instagram to post photos of himself breaking the law over a decade ago.

The Advertiser can reveal Mr Carbone snapped images with his mobile phone travelling in his Hyundai Getz at 130km/h in a 110km/h zone in 2009, at age 27.

When asked by The Advertiser about his behaviour at the time, he claimed he was unaware he was speeding.

He also said he did not know he had broken the law by using his mobile phone while driving.

The caption for the Facebook photo was: “The Getz galloping on the open road, she loves it!

Mr Carbone, who was married earlier this year and has a one-year-old child, was found to have sent an inappropriate message to a 17-year-old’s Instagram account.

It is alleged his account, juliancarboneburnsidecouncil, messaged the girl, “lots of bikini photos – but it’s so damn cold at the moment hey”.

The Advertiser further revealed his Instagram account was following at least six female accounts claimed to be run by teenagers, including another female page describing herself as “daddy’s favourite instahoe”.

Another account followed by Mr Carbone’s Instagram had a biographical description that claimed she was single and looking for a loving, caring man.

@votejulian's TikTok account was following accounts claiming to be run by teens.

His TikTok was deleted on Wednesday.

It was later exclusively revealed by The Advertiser that Mr Carbone’s TikTok account was also following accounts of a similar nature, including a dancer who claimed to be aged 19.

Mr Carbone deleted his Instagram on Tuesday night claiming he had been “hacked” and the account had been “overrun and riddled with fake profiles”.

When approached by The Advertiser about his TikTok following on Wednesday, his account was deleted within minutes.

He said it had been removed for the same reasons his Instagram was deleted.

Further investigations showed Mr Carbone’s Hickinbotham Instagram, which was active until Thursday morning, followed similar accounts.

Many of the accounts #juliancarbone-hickinbotham followed also posted provocative photographs. His page was deleted on Thursday morning after 10am.

One of the accounts featuring provocative content followed by Cr Carbone's now deleted Hickinbotham Instagram page. Picture: Instagram

The Hickinbotham Group said in a statement: “Julian Carbone ceased his employment with the Hickinbotham Group more than two years ago, in early 2020.

“He was employed by the group for around six months. This social media account is not endorsed by our company, nor does its activity align with our company values.”

During the Burnside Council meeting on Tuesday night at least one councillor demanded he resign following the allegations of an inappropriate message.

“I condemn Mr Carbone’s behaviour and while we cannot ask him to resign, I feel strongly that he should resign,” said Cr Henry Davis.

During media interviews this week, Mr Carbone cited multiple reasons for messaging the Adelaide Hills teenager who complained but maintained it wasn’t intended for a 17-year-old.

“The reason why we’ve talked about hacking and so forth is I actually do not honestly remember making that comment … I don’t remember, it was a one-off eight months ago,” he said on Tuesday.

“My early logic is that I probably assumed it was someone else or I got the messages mixed up with the profiles or something, I don’t know.”