Reggie the Rabbit speaks out after incident with nine-year-old NRL fan

The man behind the Reggie Rabbit mascot has spoken out for the first time after he landed himself in hot water on the weekend.

The man inside the iconic Reggie the Rabbit mascot outfit has spoken out for the first time after landing himself in hot water over the weekend.

Following Saturday’s NRL game between Souths and Cronulla, a young boy Benji and his mates — who were wearing Sharks jerseys – saw the mascot walking towards them and were hoping to get a high-five following Cronulla’s 27-12 win at Sharks Stadium.

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But instead of a high-five, Reggie Rabbit opted to push the youngster near his face, forcing Benji to stumble backwards before he was spoken to by a security guard.

The youngster was there with his dad and had gone to the game to watch some of his cousins play at halftime.

Watch the man inside the costume address the matter in the video player above

Charlie Gallico, the man inside the costume, addressed the matter for the first time on Monday, saying he had been heckled by a group of boys throughout the match.

“He grabbed me, he didn’t go for a high five ... no,” Gallico said to Nine News.

He added: “It’s my club, I love it and the job means a lot to me.

“I’m sorry if I done something wrong.”

Reggie Rabbit Benji pushes a young Sharks fan. Photo: TikTok

Caroline Agius, Benji’s mum, told news.com.au what happened from her son’s perspective.

“From what my son Benji has told me, he was with his mates lining up there and they could see Reggie Rabbit coming up,” Agius explained.

“And they were all like ‘let’s see if we can get a high-five’.

“So Benji popped his hand out, as you can see in the video, and he went to get a high-five but was pushed away instead.

“He was then told off by a security guard for getting too close or for touching him, from what Benji said.

“Benji apparently touched the mascot and was told off by the security guard.”

PM Anthony Albanese weighs in

Reggie Rabbit’s unique storied history with the South Sydney Rabbitohs has been unearthed in the wake of the incident with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese coming to the mascot’s defence.

“I know Charlie well. He’s the South Sydney mascot. Dresses up in that very hot suit of Reggie, the rabbit every week. He’s 81 years old. He’s a very small man,” Albanese said.

“He certainly wouldn’t have hurt anyone by intention. The young boy was obviously shocked by this insert. My heart goes out to him as well.

“And the good news is that Charlie, this wonderful, that elderly, gentle guy, will meet this young boy and his mum tomorrow to in order to apologize.

“And I just hope that they have a hug and that the young boy grows up a loving rugby league as much as Charlie does.”

Who is Reggie the Rabbit?

The role of many sporting mascots is often played by a rotating cast of young supporters looking to make some pocket money on the weekend. But that’s certainly not the case for the Rabbitohs.

It has been the same man underneath the suit with bunny ears and buck teeth for more than 20 years.

Charlie Gallico has been acting as Reggie the Rabbit since 2002, when South Sydney returned to the NRL.

Gallico, 81, spent his career working as a panelbeater while being involved at the Rabbitohs in various capacities over the years.

The original Rabbitohs mascot was a man named Reggie Fridd, and Gallico took over as the team’s mascot under the same moniker after Fridd passed away in 1996.

Charlie Gallico is a retired panel beater who has been the Souths mascot, Reggie the Rabbit, for the past 20 years. Photo: John Feder.

Charlie Gallico is Reggie the Rabbit. Photo: YouTube.

“Sometimes we used to argue, me and him, because he always said, ‘I’m taller than you’,” the diminutive Gallico reflected in a club documentary.

“And I said, ‘No you’re not. You’re shorter than me’. We had arguments over that.”

Rabbitohs chiropractor Terry Coutlis said: “Back in the day underneath the grandstand, we had Reggie, who was our groundskeeper.

“On game days he would dress up in a suit, hence the name Reggie the Rabbit.”

Gallico takes the role of mascot so seriously he asked for permission before removing the rabbit mask after Souths won the 2014 NRL Grand Final, breaking a 43-year premiership drought.

“I’ve been doing Reggie the Rabbit for 20 years and I have never ever taken the mask off,” Gallico told the SMH in 2021.

“I yelled out to Richo (former CEO Shane Richardson) ‘can I please take my mask off?‘. He said ‘Charlie, you do whatever the hell you like - we just won the grand final!’.

“That really made my night. It was the first time I took it off in 20 years. That was a beauty for me. That was a real honour.”

Reggie the Rabbit, with Adam Reynolds and Isaac Luke.

Charlie Gallico has been the man behind the mask for two decades.(Reggie Rabbit). Picture: Warren Gannon Photography.

A special documentary titled Charlie Rabbit - The Movie, was produced by the Rabbitohs in 2023 in honour of Gallico.

In the documentary, current players recall Gallico’s infamous pre-game theatrics with props including an eel and Rooster feathers being thrown on the changeroom floor as he urges the team to destroy the opposition.

“That was always the best hype speeches I’ve ever had, for sure,” centre Campbell Graham said.

Forward Jai Arrow said: “He’s the life and soul of this club. He’s always there game day, leading us out and making sure we’re on our toes.”

Charlie Gallico with Latrell Mitchell. Photo: YouTube.

‘Cowards’ won’t put Reggie Rabbit off his game

In 2021, Gallico said he wouldn’t be put off by the abuse of opposition supporters after he was roughed up by Bulldogs fans following a Good Friday game.

“I will still keep on going,” Gallico told 2GB’s Ben Fordham at the time.

“They’re only cowards … and they go there to upset little girls and little boys and fans.”

Fordham replied: “I’m filthy about this because poor old Reggie is there trying to do his job and entertain the fans and a group of heartless cowards are terrorising him.”

In footage from that 2021 game, which you can watch below, Reggie can be seen waving at some fans before being surrounded by a group of six fans who began shoving him around.

“Punch him again, punch him again,” one can be heard saying.

Gallico said about the incident: “If I wasn’t in the suit I’d bowl them up, I’m a tough little guy and I’m not afraid of anyone.

“I only try make the little kids, the families and the fans happy when I’m on the field,’ he said.

“You don’t need that kind of behaviour. When you go there (the game), you go there to enjoy the game and you don’t need to be harassed.”

Reggie the Rabbit gets attacked by fans in 2021: Photo: Nine.

Rabbitohs respond to mascot act

The Rabbitohs said they were investigating Saturday’s incident between Reggie and nine-year-old Benji.

In a short statement sent to news.com.au, the Rabbitohs said: “We have been made aware of this incident this afternoon.

“We are investigating what happened here and will have no further comment to make until our investigation is complete.”

The club also told news.com.au it has now “reached out to the boy’s mother to let her know we will be investigating the incident”.

When asked how Benji is after the incident, his mum said: “He’s all right. He was more in shock.

“I’ve taken him to the police station this afternoon and they’ve told me they can’t do anything. They don’t see it as an assault.

“He was in shock more so and felt like he’d done something wrong, but I just explained to him that he’d done nothing wrong.

“He was just there supporting football, enjoying it with his mates.”

The incident with Reggie Rabbit and young Benji with his mum Caroline. Photos: TikTok/Supplied

Coincidentally, Agius grew up a South Sydney fan and said her father coached Souths Premier League for most of her late childhood. “I was around the Souths players, I was around Reggie Rabbit,” she said.

“So it’s a bit of a shock to see that this is how young fans are treated.

“It shouldn’t happen, especially to a child from a grown man.

“It’s not what you expect at all. You wouldn’t expect that at a family friendly event at all.”

When asked if the incident could have a lasting impression on the youngster, Agius replied: “I hope he bounces back because football’s a big part of our lives.

“We watch the football, every game is always on TV if we’re not at the game.

“Football is important to us and especially him, he plays football every weekend for a club, he’s been playing for five years himself.

“It’s something exciting in his life.”

Originally published as Reggie the Rabbit speaks out after incident with nine-year-old NRL fan