Nine reporter stood down after allegedly taking $50,000 prize from billionaire Adrian Portelli
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Alex Cullen referred to Portelli by the nickname ‘McLaren guy’ on air after the mogul offered cash to the first TV presenter to do so. A Nine reporter has been stood down after allegedly taking a $50,000 payment from a billionaire for referring to him as “McLaren guy”.
Adrian Portelli, known for his cash and property giveaways, became known as the “Lambo guy” in 2022 after he turned up to a house auction for popular reality TV show, The Block, in a yellow Lamborghini. Portelli bought houses from the show in 2022, 2023 and 2024, spending $15m in 2024 to buy all five properties that season.
The moniker “Lambo guy” irked him so much that last week he offered to give $50,000 to the first television presenter to refer to him as the “McLaren guy” on air. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email. Nine presenter Alex Cullen appears to have taken Portelli up on his offer, using the alternative nickname in a live cross from the Australian Open to the Today studio in Sydney. Both he and host Karl Stefanovic used the preferred nickname in the following exchange, with Stefanovic suggesting they split the money.
On Friday, Portelli reportedly posted a screen grab of a $50,000 bank transfer to Cullen with the comment, “We have a winner! Well played sir,” according to the Herald Sun. Portelli said on Instagram on Saturday he felt the media was “subconsciously trying to degrade me by giving me this nickname, and I’m over it”.
