Nine presenter Alex Cullen stood down for accepting $50,000 from ‘Lambo Guy’

Nathan Jolly

January 20, 2025 8:45

Nine presenter Alex Cullen stood down for accepting $50,000 from ‘Lambo Guy’

Nine presenter Alex Cullen has been stood down from his role on the Today show, after accepting $50,000 from billionaire Adrian Portelli in exchange for helping to rebrand him on air.

Portelli is hoping to be known in the wider community for his generous cash and grocery giveaways, but the lotteries operator is commonly referred to in the media as ‘Lambo Guy’, after arriving at a 2022 auction on Nine’s The Block in a garish yellow Lamborghini.

To change how the media sees him, he offered $50,000 to “the first TV journalist who calls me McLaren Guy and NOT Lambo Guy”, with an accompanying photo of a McLaren vehicle being lifted onto his Melbourne property.

The billionaire took to Instagram again over the weekend to complain about the nickname, saying the media was “subconsciously trying to degrade me by giving me this nickname, and I’m over it”, adding: “I’ve told them many, many times to stop.”

Cullen saw his opportunity during a live cross from the Australian Open to the Today studio when both he and Stefanovic referred to Portelli as the McLaren guy, with Stefanovic joking they will split the prize money.

Hours later, Portelli was as good as his word, posting a screenshot of a bank transfer to Cullen and the comment: “We have a winner! Well played sir.”

Once the money swapped accounts, Nine was not amused, removing Cullen from air ahead of an investigation.

“Nine is taking this matter extremely seriously,” a 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.”

Portelli has responded to Cullen’s removal by targeting a Herald Sun journalist that reported on the debacle, offering $5,000 to the troll who posts the ‘best’ comment to her profile, writing: “If journos want to bully, let’s bully back.”