AFL’s Mitch Brown Calls Out Biphobia After Being Told To “Prove” His Sexuality At Lady Gaga Concert
DNA’s Man Of The Year, Mitch Brown, has taken to Instagram to share a troubling encounter with biphobia that happened in one of the most unexpected places: a Lady Gaga concert.
The former West Coast Eagles player, who made history in August as the first openly bisexual man in the AFL’s (Australian Football League) 129-year history, posted a video on Saturday recounting a confrontation with a media industry staffer after Gaga’s Mayhem Ball show in Melbourne.
What happened at the concert…
Brown explained that he was at a function with his partner, Lou, when a woman approached him on the way to the bathroom.
“I had so much fun. We’re at this function towards the end of the concert. I was just minding my own business,” Brown says in the video. “I walk into the bathroom I hear, ‘Mitch, Mitch, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.’ I get confronted by a staff member of one of Australia’s biggest media organisations.”
What came next left him rattled.
“She goes, ‘I’ve been meaning to talk to you and you know, can I just say this? I just don’t believe you, I just don’t believe it. I don’t believe you’re bisexual. I need you to prove it to me.'”
Brown admitted the encounter caught him off guard. “I was like a bit thrown, a bit put off. I’ve had this in comments on social media but I’ve never had it in person before, having to prove my sexuality.”
“So you’re just gay then?”
After attempting to explain himself, Brown said the woman doubled down. “I felt like I had to explain it, so I did my best and then she goes, ‘Oh, so you’re just gay then?’ And I was like, ‘No.'”
The 36-year-old pointed out the irony of being questioned while attending the event with his female partner. “Remember I’m at this function with my awesome partner Lou, who’s a woman. People ask me why I’ve been really apprehensive of talking to traditional football media. This is just an example of why that is, that fear for me still exists.”
Since coming out, Brown has been contacted by thousands of people sharing their own stories. In a recent interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, he recalled a moment that crystallised the impact of his decision.
“There was this kid in my local cafe, and I was sitting down and he comes out from the other side of the bench with the coffee machine, and there’s tears in his eyes, and he goes, ‘Hey Mitch’, and he’s crying, ‘I just want to say thank you, I’m a gay man, and you don’t know how much this means to me.’ He was shaking. And that was when the enormity of what I had done really hit home.”
Brown has been clear that his advocacy comes from a place of service rather than self-promotion. “I’ve always maintained the fact that I didn’t do this for me. I was quite happily out within my own little friendship group and community. I’m straight-presenting with a woman as a partner,” he said. “I wanted to shine a light on homophobia in sport, but more importantly, on your ability as a man to show up as you are, and not what people think you should be.”
The response has been overwhelming.
Comments on Brown’s Instagram post reflected both outrage and solidarity. Nine News host Peter Hitchener wrote, “You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone Mitch… you know who you are FULL STOP! We all support your advocacy work, opening discussions and being a voice.”
Another follower summed up a shared frustration: “This is the story for bisexual people the world over, having to prove our sexuality when we are public about it. Keep fighting the good fight mate and never stop being unapologetically you.”
At DNA, we named Mitch Brown our Man Of The Year for a reason. His willingness to share these uncomfortable truths, even when it would be easier to stay quiet, is exactly the kind of visibility that shifts culture.
Read Mitch Brown’s eight-page feature in DNA #311.
