Former ‘Idol’ finalist apologises for ‘homophobic’ tweet
By Josh Haggis
A former Australian Idol contestant has apologised for tweeting a picture that could be interpreted as homophobic.
Rob Mills, who reached the final five on the Aussie singing competition in 2003, attracted criticism when he posted a picture of two toy figurines in a sex position to celebrate his rugby team, the Hawks, winning the Australian Football League final yesterday (September 28).
The 32-year-old singer shared the picture on Twitter accompanied by the caption: “#hilarious #criticssaidwhaaaaaat #b2b #alwayshawthorn.” He has since deleted it, but check out a screen-grab below.
After receiving a wave of angry tweets in response, Mills released a statement yesterday (September 28) “apologising unreservedly” for the picture and calling himself “a longtime supporter” of gay rights. Read his full statement below.
“I apologise unreservedly for the photo I tweeted yesterday – it was immature and inappropriate. In the excitement of celebrating the Hawks’ Grand Final win, I didn’t think about the homophobic implications of the image. This incident probably shows how entrenched inadvertent homophobia is in our culture. As a long-time supporter of the rights of Australia’s gay community, it’s not good enough and I’m ashamed if I have contributed to it, even in a small way.”