Former football commentator Lucy Zelić has amassed a loyal following due to her staunch views on trans women in sports and other controversial issues – although this has resulted in receiving vile abuse and the loss of some friendships.

The outspoken critic of ‘woke’ culture has found what she jokingly refers to as a ‘safe space’ for her opinions on the new Booty and the Beasts podcast. Nevertheless, her commitment to ensuring sports like soccer remain a ‘safe space’ for biological women has led some to label her a bigot, confronting her with uncomfortable realities about certain relationships.

Zelić revealed to the Daily Mail that her perspective on trans inclusion in sports shifted upon learning about the Sydney women’s soccer team, the Flying Bats, which includes several trans women players and boasts an impressive winning streak.

‘I was a football journalist for the better part of 15 years and spent eight years in TV covering the game. 

“As a mother of a young daughter, I reached a point where I felt the need to restore our capacity for open and honest public discourse, moving away from overly sanitised environments where everyone fears repercussions for their words,” she explained. 

However, speaking freely about such a controversial topic came at a price. 

Zelić was used to being targeted during her time as one of the faces of SBS’s soccer coverage – including being mocked for what trolls called ‘over-pronunciation’ of foreign names (she was simply pronouncing them correctly) – but the abuse went up a few notches once her political views gained traction.

‘[I was told] you shouldn’t wear your hair to that particular side because your face is uneven. I was called a s***, a b****, a w****. “How dare you say that about Portugal?”‘ she said of the online abuse she faced at SBS.

‘Once I spoke out about trans issues in sport I feel like it went to a totally different level and a far more sinister one.

‘A lot of it has been really pretty nasty, to the tune of, “You’re a complete and utter disgrace”, “You deserve to die,” “You’re a fascist,” “You’re a Nazi” – real bottom-of-the-barrel kind of stuff.

‘If me coming out and saying biological reality exists and there are only two genders – if that’s controversial – I worry for what the future looks like.’

Those slurs, horrible as they are, haven’t been the only hit Zelić has taken over her outspoken stance on controversial trans policies.

‘There have been a lot of relationships – as a consequence of either my political statements or beliefs or my advocacy for saving women’s sport – that have failed and have fallen apart,’ Zelić explained.

‘But as much as that’s caused me sadness, I also realise there’s nothing to be gained from being fake… if there has been collateral damage as a result of my views, that just says to me that they weren’t genuine friendships to begin with.’

Zelić’s time at SBS saw her share the screen with Socceroos legend Craig Foster, whose very woke views on a wide range of topics stand in direct opposition to hers.

So has their mateship also fallen by the wayside? Surprisingly, no.

‘I love and adore that man and have immense respect for him regardless of our [differing] views,’ she explained.

‘Our relationship and friendship is something that transcends politics, it transcends societal issues and all of those things. 

‘He will always be regarded as someone who is family to me. That relationship has withstood the test of time and is emblematic of the fact that when a friendship is truly genuine, it can survive anything, including one’s political beliefs.’

While her relationship with Foster is a source of joy, Zelić had a very different view when she was asked if she could return to work at SBS.

‘No!’ she said through a fit of laughter.

‘And isn’t that in some way a tragedy? At the end of the day, we can’t only allow and platform people who we agree with.

‘Unfortunately we have certain media organisations in this country who will only allow for one particular type of debate, and I think that’s not only a scourge on the profession of journalism, but on democracy. 

‘Why are we allowing one group to have a voice, but the other not to?’

One of the things that attracted Zelić to Booty and the Beasts – in addition to loving the old TV talk show on which it’s based, Beauty and the Beast – is its mission to give panel members free rein to speak their minds, even if that means offending people.

‘I like that it’s off-the-cuff and not so hell-bent on being politically focused and neutral and making sure to stay within the boundaries without upsetting anyone,’ she said.

‘As Australians, we always had that reputation for being these happy-go-lucky people who were so willing to speak their minds and who were very passionate about free speech, and I think that we have largely moved away from that.’

Zelić will be holding court with well-known names like Prue MacSween, top lawyer Margaret Cunneen and TV presenter Joe Hildebrand.

But how will she get on with another star of the podcast, transgender icon Carlotta, given her stance on women in sport?

‘The beautiful thing about Carlotta is that Carlotta is full of common sense,’ Zelić said.

‘Carlotta isn’t somebody who believes males should be competing in women’s sport so is completely on board with that view.

‘I don’t think there would be too many situations where Carlotta and I would butt heads.’