Former Married at First Sight Australia groom Dean Wells has broken his silence after being dumped by his management for posting a transphobic doctored image of a drag queen.
Earlier this week, the 45-year-old shared a photoshopped flyer on Instagram advertising a performance by Sydney drag queen Charisma Belle for a children’s storytime event at the Manly Library.
**TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains transphobic language and may be triggering to some readers.
In the post, the MAFS groom who participated in season 5 of the reality TV series in 2018, made it clear he wasn’t a fan of Drag Queen Story Time events and suggested they were harmful to children.
The ‘misleading’ version Dean shared featured a doctored image of Charisma vulgarly spreading her legs with a heel in her crotch. The sexualised image of the drag queen also featured a taco between her legs.
Married at First Sight’s Dean Wells breaks his silence and doubles down on his transphobic post
In a statement provided to Daily Mail on February 15, Dean doubled down on his belief that drag performances are inappropriate for young children and should not be paid for by the government.
Dean claimed he respects the “LGBTQ2S+ community”, and his original post had nothing to do with targeting queer individuals.
LGBTQ2S+ is an acronym that stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning, and Two-Spirit.
According to Dean, he was expressing his doubts about the “benefits” of exposing children to overt expressions of sexuality, whether it be via events featuring drag queens, dominatrixes or strippers.
“In no way am I transphobic, homophobic or hateful,” Dean claimed.
“My post was about one thing. Is it appropriate for three-year-old kids to be exposed to advanced gender and sexual ideologies? I would personally think around the age of 12 is more suitable for that kind of thing.”
He continued: “I was curious to know what other people thought. After all this is a taxpayer-funded event in my neighbourhood, I think I have the right to ask that question.”
Dean Wells claims he didn’t know if Charisma Belle was a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community
Dean also said he didn’t know if Charisma Belle was a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community, as there are straight men who also participate in the art of drag.
“I had no idea of the drag queen’s sexuality. Are all drag queens even gay? I don’t know. I’m pretty sure they are not. I didn’t even talk about that in my post. So the accusations of me being transphobic or homophobic are just plain false,” he said.
Dean also disputed claims he “doctored” the original flyer advertising Charisma Belle’s appearance at Manly Library.
“I did not ‘doctor’ any photo or attempt to mislead anyone,” he said. “I took an image of the drag queen in question, that he himself posted to his Instagram, and put it next to the Manly libraries website post to show people who the drag queen is.”
He continued: “I clearly stated in the caption that I had merged the two screenshots and that the library was not using this image to advertise the event. So how is that misleading?”
He also said that while the online backlash has “taken a toll” on his mental health, he won’t be silenced.
Married at First Sight’s Dean Wells shares a transphobic drag queen post
In the since-deleted post, Dean wrote: “Our tax dollars are being used to fund a thing called Drag Queen Story Time where drag queens go to our libraries and schools and are paid to read to kids as young as three, usually about gender identity and from an extremist left-wing perspective.’
“I honestly do not get what the cultural benefit of this is and think it is sending confusing messages to kids.”
He added that, “being a drag queen is inherently sexual” and that some queens have “serious mental disorders that need to be dealt with.”
Married at First Sight’s Sam Carraro and Jules Robinson share their support for Dean Wells on the transphobic post
The post was surprisingly liked by fellow MAFS alum Sam Carraro and Jules Robinson.
Jules, who is a mother-of-one, commented on the post saying: “😂😂 can’t keep up #horny.”
Whilst Sam wrote: “🔥🙌.”
Story Time host Charisma Belle responded to Dean Well’s doctored post
Charisma, the host of the drag story time event quickly responded, labelling him “another straight man telling people how to behave and dissecting a community they have had very limited experience with.”
“You purposely went through my Instagram page to find the most ‘sexual’ picture you could, to mock up a fake ad for the event,” the Sydney queen said.
“You purposely misrepresented the situation and misguided your followers.”
She added that Story Time was for ‘parents that want their kids to grow up to be well adjusted human beings’.
Dean Well’s management Stage Addiction announce they have fired him
The same day Dean’s management agency, Stage Addiction, announced they would no longer be representing him.
“As a queer-owned business, Stage Addiction has always and will always celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community,” they wrote on their Instagram Story.
“The deeply hurtful comments made today by Dean Wells do not align with our values and as such we have parted ways.”
Stage Addiction represents figures such as drag queen Art Simone.
However, it’s not the first time Dean has made harmful and derogatory comments about the LGBTQIA+ community and other minority groups so it’s a shame it took his management this long to fire him…
So Dramatic! has contacted Stage Addiction for comment.
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