As an already established artist in the U.S. Mulleian was becoming controversial. Not only in his art surrounding his intense subject matter, but now on his views of homosexuality that drew the attention of the FBI to the front door of the artist's studio.

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In January 1973, The Advocate (a national newspaper in the U.S.) published one of the biggest feature stories on an individual of its day, which drew national attention and generated fan mail throughout the U.S. The cover story was two full pages dedicated to Mark Mulleian's art and lifestyle, and his views ranging from human rights and individual sexual expression, to the political aspects of journalism, such as the themes discussed in the writings of Thomas Albright, art critic of the San Francisco Chronicle. It was in the area of individual sexual expression that Mulleian's outspoken views drew the attention of the FBI to the front door of the artist's studio in an investigation into his controversial and challenging commentary on aspects of fundamental social values, Mulleian reveals that he is a homosexual
during the Nixon era and shortly after J. Edgar Hoover death in 1972.
Despite the artist's outspoken observations of the national scene, his media attention continued to climb for over three decades, This attention came not only from mainstream media but also from the media of a newly emerging counterculture that was finding its voice in what would later come to be thought of as a bridge between the radical sensibilities of North Beach, (radical as perceived by the status quo), and the dawning of a new age of personal expression and sexual freedom. He was thought by many to be ahead of his time. Mulleian's art and his avant-garde views created a unique relationship with the media of two cultures, a relationship that was not only unprecedented but, indirectly, a testimony to the universality of his work.
An artist comes out
on a international scale
ADVOCATE 1973
Two weeks after the Advocate story broke, a similar two-page cover feature would appear in the European equivalent of the Advocate, the German magazine Him, a monthly periodical reaching a wide audience in Belgium, Denmark, England, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the United States. Mulleian was twenty-three years old.
This cover story and the subsequent FBI investigation brought a national outpouring of response by mail to the painter from the Gay community throughout the United States that lasted for over four months. The predominant response from the public was appreciation for Mulleian's courageous and liberating stance by his coming out and speaking publicly in a national and international forum, bringing to the forefront of public attention his homosexuality in a time and era were it was dangerous, indeed illegal, to do so.