When the West Vic Brolga spoke to Ben Cousins’ agent Alan Zanich on Wednesday afternoon, he was in damage control mode.
Cancelled: Cousins - the disgraced former AFL star who served jail sentences for stalking and breaching restraining orders - had been due to appear in his show Raw at the George Hotel on Wednesday night.
However, following a story in the Brolga on Tuesday about the backlash to the booking, the pub cancelled the event.
An emotional Zanich was in the throes of trying to relocate the show at the last minute. According to online advertising, Raw was moved to another hotel, however that venue issued a statement saying this was incorrect.
The response: Zanich said Cousins “acknowledges fault and he acknowledges he hurt people and he acknowledges he’s gotten more chances than he deserves. He acknowledges it’s more chances than he would’ve given to others”.
The agent said he “absolutely empathises with people that have dealt with domestic violence,” and that he was a “family guy, been married 20 years and it’s unsettling to hear anyone has had to experience it”.
He said restricting Cousins’ story wasn’t productive, as his story is one “hope” and "inspiration".
“It’s a great story for those on that edge,” he said. “At our shows, we get questions from people with family members going through that dark place.”
He said he understood the community reaction, but felt the cancellation was a “lost opportunity”.
“I appreciate the angle that people are hurting and they see it as Ben making money talking about bad things he did, but that’s not what it is,” he told the Brolga. “Why restrict what is available for people?”
The backlash: Women’s health advocates spoke to the Brolga on Tuesday about their concerns the show was being hosted near Ballarat’s She Matters mural.
The mural shows the face of each woman murdered in Australia since 2024, and was founded by Sherele Moody from Australian Femicide Watch.
She told the Brolga hosting the Ben Cousins event “tells people that it is okay to perpetrate violence and still get a pedestal”.
“I am appalled to know a man who harmed a woman … is performing at a venue just a quick walk from the She Matters mural,” Moody said. “There are many high profile sportswomen in Australia. Surely the talent pool is bigger than Ben Cousins?”
Acting Women’s Health Grampians CEO Kate Diamond-Keith told the Brolga Cousins speaking in Ballarat would send the message that the community “is accepting of a perpetrator and of them being elevated”.
Header Image: Tourism Midwest Victoria and Ben Cousins social media