Caroline Wilson reveals Mad Monday mockery and calls Bailey Smith ‘gutless’
caroline wilson has again publicly criticised Bailey Smith and the Geelong Football Club over last year’s Mad Monday scandal, branding Smith “gutless” and saying he “makes horrible comments about women” after social-media posts that mocked her and offended multiple communities.
What did Caroline Wilson say and why does it matter?
Verified facts:
- Caroline Wilson, a footy journalist, described Bailey Smith as “gutless” and said he “makes horrible comments about women. “
- Bailey Smith, aged 25, posted an image on Instagram of himself with teammate Max Holmes from a post-season fancy-dress party; Holmes was dressed as Wilson, and Smith wore a costume based on Tristan Ludlow from the film Legends of the Fall. Smith captioned the image: “Caro has never looked better, ” adding a sweat-droplets emoji.
- Smith also published another image with Patrick Dangerfield in western-themed outfits in which the pair appeared to embrace; Smith added the caption: “Or Brokeback Mountain, depends on how ya look at it. This is what losing a granny does to ya. Alright, phone away now. Bye. “
- Caroline Wilson wrote in a column in October that the Instagram post was an “insulting and sexist message” to aspiring females with strong opinions working in the media or elsewhere in the AFL.
- The Geelong Football Club apologised for the inappropriate Mad Monday outfits and stated the end-of-season function would no longer “continue in this current form. “
- Wilson said she was “disappointed” in how the club reacted to the social-media scandal and described the sweat-droplets emoji as “disgusting, ” noting she only learned its connotation after asking her youngest daughter to explain it.
Informed analysis: The facts above show a sequence of social-media posts, editorial response and a formal apology from the club. The combination of a public mock, suggestive captioning and a subsequent apology frames the controversy as both personal and institutional: an individual action amplified by club association produced reputational damage for multiple parties.
How did the Mad Monday imagery escalate the controversy?
The posts placed a senior player’s social-media activity at the centre of the dispute. A photo pairing a player costumed as a journalist with another player using a caption and a sweat-droplets emoji introduced a sexualised undertone into a depiction of a media professional. A separate image invoking Brokeback Mountain added further offence for some observers. The club’s subsequent apology and decision that the end-of-season function would not “continue in this current form” indicate the incident prompted institutional steps to change behaviour around that event.
Who is implicated and what accountability exists?
Named individuals in the factual record include Bailey Smith, Max Holmes and Patrick Dangerfield; the Geelong Football Club is the institutional actor that issued an apology and announced changes to the post-season event’s format. Caroline Wilson expressed personal offence in print and in an interview, calling the conduct insulting and sexist, and describing the emoji use as “disgusting. ” On-field performance for Smith was noted as strong in the available facts—he finished third in the Brownlow Medal vote and the team reached a Grand Final—which complicates the public reckoning by separating sporting success from off-field conduct.
Verified fact: Geelong apologised and announced the end-of-season function would not continue in its current form. Informed analysis: That response acknowledges institutional responsibility for cultural signals emitted at club events, but the available factual record does not specify what remedies or behavioral reforms will follow beyond altering the function’s format.
Final note: caroline wilson’s public condemnation of the posts has reopened questions about how elite sporting environments police conduct, how clubs respond when individual actions harm others, and what measures will be put in place to prevent a similar incident from recurring.
