Brian To’o has finally broken his silence after sparking outrage with his crude comments about teammates’ partners, insisting he was actually trying to praise them.
The Penrith winger was slammed after the club’s awards night last year when Instagram comments surfaced linking teammates to sexualised nicknames about their partners, including Matildas star Mary Fowler.
The remarks quickly went viral after they were exclusively revealed by the Daily Mail, drawing widespread condemnation from fans who labelled them disrespectful and inappropriate, particularly given the high-profile status of some of the women involved.
Now, speaking on the Unscripted podcast hosted by former Panthers teammate Josh Mansour, To’o has attempted to explain his thinking, admitting the situation quickly spiralled beyond his control.
‘It was just more of a hype for them,’ To’o said.
Mansour laughed while recalling the comments, which included ‘Fowler slayer’ and ‘Elle smasher’, before pressing the premiership-winner on what he was thinking when he posted them publicly.
Penrith star Brian To’o has spoken about the backlash to his Instagram comments on teammates’ wives and girlfriends after the club’s 2025 awards night
Former Penrith star Josh Mansour (pictured) found the situation hilarious and laughed his way through his podcast interview with the Panthers winger
‘I actually don’t know,’ To’o replied.
‘It was pretty silly, to be honest.
‘Because it started from generalising, sexualising stuff.
‘And then it went from that to me sleeping with them.
‘Like it was just going all over the place.
‘They’re my brothers, and that’s their wives, yeah, it just got out of hand.’
The 26-year-old conceded his actions crossed a line, repeatedly describing the posts as ‘stupid’ as he reflected on the backlash that followed.
‘It was just pretty stupid,’ he said.
To’o described Cleary as ‘the fowler slayer’ in one of a series of off-colour remarks using the first names of players’ partners
Commenters hoped that the award-winning players like Scott Sorensen (pictured) would call out To’o for making the remarks
Despite the widespread criticism online, To’o revealed he was far less concerned about public reaction than he was with how the targets of his comments would feel.
‘I was like, more worried about … the wives,’ he said.
‘I didn’t care what the media and all them were saying, I was more worried about them [the partners], if they were all right with what they were saying.’
Mansour suggested the comments may have been taken out of context, adding, ‘So the wives didn’t care, they knew it was just a bit of tongue in cheek.’
To’o stopped short of confirming that outright, but indicated his focus remained on ensuring no personal relationships were damaged.
He also appeared to downplay any formal fallout from the club, with no suggestion he was seriously reprimanded internally.
However, he did reference the extreme nature of some of the public backlash, joking about how he was perceived in the aftermath.
‘Everyone just thought I was Jeffrey Epstein,’ To’o said.
Mansour, still amused by the situation, admitted some of the reaction had gone too far, saying, ‘Some of the stuff that was getting tossed up, I was like “settle down”.’
To’o’s explanation that the comments were intended as ‘hype’ or compliments received plenty of support on TikTok.
‘To’o you’re never offensive.. you are a fun joker who describes things in banter,’ one fan posted.
Another added: ‘It’s simple really media just don’t get poly [Polynesian] humour.’
‘Thats just Bizza, media should know by now, Keep doing what you been doing Bizza,’ posted yet another.
