EXCLUSIVE
Billionaire Adrian Portelli is under fire for urging fans to bombard a female journalist online after she revealed Channel Nine was investigating one of its top stars for accepting $50,000 from him in an explosive cash for comment scandal.
There are now calls for authorities to investigate the 35-year-old entrepreneur after thousands of cyberbullies flooded her social media account with vile and misogynistic slurs.
Portelli encouraged his 461,000 Instagram followers to ‘bully’ Fiona Byrne – and even offered a cash prize for the best takedown – on Saturday evening after revealing he felt she had ‘disrespected’ him.
The incident unfolded after the respected Herald Sun columnist reported that Today show sports presenter Alex Cullen had been stood down for accepting a $50,000 cash payment from Portelli as part of an ill-advised on-air stunt.
The businessman then took offence to being referred to as ‘Lambo Guy’ in the headline.
‘Come on Fiona. You can do better than that,’ he posted on Instagram.
‘Be respectful and use my real name or I’ll come up with a nickname for you and blast it all over my socials.’
Billionaire promoter Adrian Portelli explains why he encouraged his 461,000 followers to ‘bully’ the Herald’s Sun respected journalist Fiona Byrne on social media
Today show sports presenter Alex Cullen has been stood down while Nine investigates the cash for comment scandal
Portelli then called on his followers to suggest appropriate nicknames for Ms Byrne before encouraging fans to ‘bully’ her online.
‘If journos wanna bully, let’s bully back,’ he wrote before tagging her personal account and offering the prize money.
‘$5,000 best comment on [Ms Byrne’s] profile.’
The Rich Lister’s call-to-arms saw the highly regarded, award-winning journalist’s account inundated with inappropriate and false remarks about her appearance and professionalism.
Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to repeat any of the comments.
Portelli later issued what appeared to be a further veiled threat to unleash his army of followers on any journalist who dared to ‘disrespect’ him – or refer to him by his unofficial nickname, ‘Lambo Guy’.
The LMCT+ founder attracted the unwanted moniker after arriving at Nine reality reno show The Block’s 2022 auction in a bright orange Lamborghini Murcielago SV.
‘Just to clear things up, I don’t have an issue with journalists, right? They’ve got a job to do,’ he explained in a clip posted to his Instagram feed late Saturday night.
Portelli earned the nickname ‘Lambo Guy’ after rocking up to The Block’s 2022 auction in a bright orange Lamborghini Murcielago SV
The billionaire said journalist Fiona Byrne ‘copped it’ for ‘disrespecting’ him and using the nickname
‘They’ve got food to put on the table, just like each and every one of us, right?
‘I’ve had many encounters with journalists over the years. They’ve all been positive…a lot of these journalists I now consider my friends.
‘So they are good people. Whether they write a good article about me or a negative article about me, there is nothing wrong with that. I don’t have an issue with it.
‘If I’ve given them a platform to write a negative article that’s completely on me and it’s nobody else’s fault but myself. However, once you disrespect me, I am going to put my foot down.
‘I feel like they’re subconsciously trying to degrade me by giving me this nickname, [Lambo Guy], and I’m over it.
‘Unfortunately, Fiona copped the brunt of it. I’ve told her many, many times to stop. She didn’t. She copped it.
‘So I just wanted to show the media that I do have a platform as well. I can drive a large amount of traffic, and I’m not afraid to use it. So maybe just be a bit more respectful, and I’ll respect you guys.’
Leading Sydney lawyer Richard Mitry told Daily Mail Australia he was appalled by Portelli’s conduct and said the authorities needed to stamp out any attempt to use social media to bully and harass people – or incite others to do so.
Portelli says he is ‘not afraid’ to use his social media profile to hit back if he feels offended
‘We’re talking about a journalist, a human being like anybody else, who is being singled out and targeted for abuse. This is serious stuff,’ he said.
‘As for the authorities, there’s a time when they’ve got to show some teeth, and send a message that this sort of thing is completely unacceptable – because if he can get away with it, then everyone else will think they can get away with it, too.’
Former NSW deputy police commissioner Mick Willing echoed the concerns, saying cyberbullying and harassment was an offence and had absolutely no place in society.
‘Encouraging people to bully and intimate others online – regardless of their age, gender or profession – is completely unacceptable,’ the decorated former deputy commissioner said.
‘I genuinely hope that the lady at the centre of this deplorable pile-on is doing alright – no one deserves to be targeted like that.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Portelli for comment regarding the incident through his company, LMCT+.
Ms Byrne declined to discuss the matter when contacted on Sunday.
The ugly pile-on came after Nine confirmed it had taken Cullen off air and was treating his decision to accept $50,000 from Portelli ‘extremely seriously’.
The promoter has attracted a legion of dedicated followers on social media
Former NSW deputy police commissioner Mick Willing says cyberbullying and harassment was an offence and had absolutely no place in society
The sports journalist, who joined the Today show five years ago, has found himself in hot water after Portelli last week said he was sick of being referred to as ‘Lambo Guy’ and would give $50,000 to the first journalist to publicly refer to him by his new self-appointed nickname of ‘McLaren Man’.
Cullen complied with the request live on-air during a cross from the Australian Open with Today colleagues Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo on Friday morning.
The 44-year-old, who is already on a $250,000-a-year deal with the Today show, then posted a clip of the exchange on his Instagram – and even drew Portelli’s attention to the video by tagging the billionaire promoter.
It worked: Portelli soon reposted the vision alongside a caption saying: ‘I think we have a winner.’
Nine insiders said the stunt could have been mutually beneficial for both the network and Portelli, if only Cullen had advised the promoter that, as a journalist, he was unable accept any payment for making the comment on-air.
Accepting cash, gifts or benefits to undermine journalistic independence, and improperly using a journalistic position for personal gain, are both breaches to the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Journalist Code of Ethics.
‘What Alex should have done is refuse to accept any money and told Portelli to donate it directly to a charity instead – that’s if he was going to get involved in the stunt at all,’ one network insider told Daily Mail Australia.
Alex Cullen has been stood down after he and his Today show co-star Karl Stefanovic dropped Adrian Portelli’s new nickname during a live cross from the Australian Open on Friday
‘Portelli is such a great promoter he may have even doubled the amount and everyone – including a well-deserving charity – would have looked great.’
That didn’t happen.
Instead on Friday night, the entrepreneur posted a screenshot of a bank transfer that showed he had deposited $50,000 into Cullen’s personal account.
‘Alex isn’t an entertainer – he may be on the Today show but he’s supposed to be a serious journalist,’ a network insider said.
‘What he’s done is (he’s) blurred the lines completely here and he’s made it look like Nine’s journalism and journalists are up for sale.
‘It’s a terrible look and serious questions need to be asked why he would think it was even remotely okay to do that – it’s literally, cash for comment.’
Nine said the money would be returned to Portelli and agreed those serious questions would have to be answered before Cullen had any hope of returning to the airwaves for the network.
‘Nine is taking this matter extremely seriously,’ a Nine spokesperson said.
‘Appropriate action has been promptly taken, including arranging for the funds to be returned.
‘While we review the circumstances in which this occurred, Alex has agreed to stand down.’
Cullen has gone to ground in the wake of the incident and did not respond to a request to discuss the matter on Sunday.
