what did bailey smith say about caroline wilson
Bailey Smith did not just “say” one simple thing about Caroline Wilson – he made a series of social media posts that were widely condemned as insulting, sexist, and mocking toward her, then briefly doubled down before deleting them.
What actually happened
- During Geelong’s Mad Monday celebrations, Smith posted a photo of teammate Max Holmes dressed up as veteran AFL journalist Caroline Wilson, copying an outfit she had worn to the Walkley Awards and linking it to her “Caro’s Arrow” segment.
- In the same Instagram content, he added sexualised and suggestive emojis aimed at Wilson, which many in the AFL industry – especially women – viewed as degrading and sexist rather than just a joke costume.
- The post sat alongside a pattern of edgy or crude social media behaviour from Smith, including previous “nose beers” (drug-use) references, which commentators argued showed poor judgment rather than harmless banter.
How Caroline Wilson responded
- Wilson wrote a strongly worded column titled along the lines of “Bailey Smith’s social media post about me was insulting and sexist. How dare he?”, saying she only fully understood the offensive nature of the emoji after her daughter explained it.
- She described Smith as a “season-long ticking time bomb” who had “exploded” at Mad Monday, and said he behaved like a “lawless selfish brat” with no regard for his club or the teammates who had defended him.
- Wilson argued the issue was not just personal insult but what his behaviour signalled to young women in football and media, calling the post emblematic of a broader culture of misogyny and disrespect toward women in the AFL ecosystem.
How Smith’s “sayings” escalated
- After Wilson’s column and subsequent backlash, Smith later posted more content interpreted as further digs at Wilson (and also at Mark Robinson), again on social media, before deleting those posts once the criticism intensified.
- Commentators like Robinson publicly slammed him, labelling the continuing references to Wilson as “disgusting” and accusing the AFL and Geelong of being too soft or slow to act on his behaviour.
- Across talkback, TV, and forums, fans and media figures repeatedly described his posts about Wilson as sexist, insulting, and part of a “woman problem” that the AFL keeps failing to properly address.
Why it became a big trending topic
- The clash fed into a wider, ongoing conversation in late 2025 about how AFL players treat women – journalists, fans, and colleagues – especially online, where sexualised ridicule and harassment are common.
- Wilson, as a long‑time, sometimes polarising but highly respected footy journalist, became a lightning rod: supporters argued she was right to call out Smith, while some fans on forums felt she was too harsh or that his mental‑health struggles should be given more weight.
- The saga stayed in the news cycle because it combined key ingredients of modern AFL drama: star player, controversial social media, gender respect issues, and high‑profile media figures publicly trading blows.
TL;DR: Smith didn’t just make an offhand comment – he posted mocking, sexualised Instagram content about Caroline Wilson (including a costume of her and offensive emojis), then followed up with more digs before deleting them, leading Wilson to brand the posts “insulting and sexist” and many in the AFL world to call out his behaviour as part of a broader disrespect toward women.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.