Dicko confirms he tried to out Anthony Callea on Australian Idol

Out of the jungle, Ian “Dicko” Dickson has publicly responded to the claims Anthony Callea makes about him in his new tell-all memoir.

Ian “Dicko” Dickson has confirmed Anthony Callea’s recent claims that he tried to out him as gay while filming Australian Idol in 2004.

Speaking on The Kyle & Jackie O Show this morning, Dicksonaddressed Callea’s new memoir Behind The Voice, in which he claimed the music mogul using various tactics in an attempt to get him to discuss his sexuality on camera.

Callea wrote in the book that after one televised performance, Dicko announced that his target audience would be “grannies, girls and gays” - in what he said was a clear attempt to insinuate his sexuality on camera.

It’s a move the record executive now says he regrets.

“Look, do you know what? I was,” the former Idol judge confessed when asked by host Jackie “O” Henderson if he tried to out Callea on the show.

Ian “Dicko” Dickson with Australian Idol contestants Anthony Callea and Casey Donovan in 2004.

“I could clearly see he was gay and I kept pushing him and saying, ‘Look, we’ve worked with artists and boy bands where they have been gay members but they’ve had to keep it quiet. If you come out to us, we are your record company, we can help you have the life you want to lead and keep it quiet. But it’s better if we know.’ And he just wasn’t ready to give that up.”

Dickson said that he believes Callea’s “conservative Italian family” may have played a role in why the aspiring singer wanted to keep his sexuality under wraps.

But regardless, Dickson – who is fresh from his stint on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! – said he had no place trying to force Callea to come out.

Dicko now says it wasn’t his place to out Callea.

Dicko (right) with judges Mark Holden and Marcia Hines.

“It really wasn’t up to me to get him to come out,” he said on air. “I love the gay community and I don’t understand why anyone would want to hide that. But at the end of the day, 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].”

In the same interview, Dickson said he felt for the judges on the recent Australian Idol reboot, among them Kyle Sandilands, as he felt they’ve had to exercise more restraint with their judging.

Callea recalled Dicko said his target audience was “girls, grannies and gays” after one TV performance.

“I wouldn’t be able to say what I felt,” Dickson said. “I could see Kyle was constricted. Kyle likes to speak his mind but I could see even he was a little bit tongue-tied, watching what he would say. But it’s a different world these days.”

Elsewhere in his post-I’m A Celeb media tour today, Dicko gave news.com.au the dirt on what really happened behind the scenes of Kerri-Anne Kennerley’s dramatic departure from the show, and also gave us some insights about that very delicate aspect of jungle life: The camp’s open-air, cold shower.

Dicko aired many an Australian Idol story during his near-three-week stint on I’m A Celeb, including an emotional chat about his most infamous TV scandal - and the heartwarming moment he got to hand Guy Sebastian his first, massive royalty cheque.

Originally published as Dicko confirms he tried to out Anthony Callea on Australian Idol