Music

Kirin J Callinan Has Been Charged By Police For Exposing Himself At The ARIAs

He's facing a fine of $1000 or a six month prison sentence

by Katie Cunningham  5 February 2018
Kirin

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Six weeks after he exposed his penis on the ARIAs red carpet, NSW police have confirmed Kirin J Callinan has been charged with wilful and obscene exposure in a public place.

The Guardian today reported that Callinan has been charged by police with the offence, which could land him a fine of $1000 or a six month prison sentence. NSW Police then confirmed to Junkee that the a 31-year-old man was first summonsed on Friday December 8, and will face the Downing Centre Local Court On Wednesday February 21.

Callinan’s manager has confirmed to The Guardian that the ARIAs incident is now a police matter. “It is therefore not appropriate to make a comment at this stage,” he said. “Kirin will be speaking about the matter at the appropriate time.”

Callinan lifted his kilt to a group of waiting photographers on the red carpet of 2017’s ARIA Awards in late November, holding it up for a good few seconds before dropping it down. On Friday, Australian musician Neil Finn came to Callinan’s defence on Twitter, criticising Laneway’s decision to remove Kirin from their line-up and sharing video footage of the ARIAs incident:

Two weeks ago, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival quietly removed Callinan from their 2018 line-up. The festival hasn’t made a public statement about why they ditched Kirin, but Junkee understands that a number of Laneway acts put pressure on promoters to take Callinan off the line-up after the ARIAs.

In a statement on his Instagram last week, the Sydney artist shared his disappointment about being removed from the bill but did not address his behaviour on the red carpet.

Earlier today, Tasmanian festival Party in the Paddock announced they’d added Kirin J Callinan to their 2018 line-up in a show of support for his “provocative and brilliant work”.

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Photo via Kirin J Callinan Facebook page