Alex Cullen has broken his silence after Channel Nine dropped him for accepting a $50,000 gift from The Block billionaire Adrian Portelli.
The Today presenter, 44, received a hefty sum after being the first media personality to use Portelli’s self-given nickname ‘McLaren Man’ on air.
Portelli has grown tired of his long-standing nickname ‘Mr. Lambo’ and offered the cash reward to the first person to use his new nickname on air, and Cullen did so on the Today Show on Friday.
The reckless stunt led to Cullen being suspended by Nine and he has not appeared on air since as the network investigates the payment, which has now been donated to charity by Portelli.
On Tuesday, Cullen broke his social media silence amid the huge controversy when he took to Instagram to share a birthday tribute post to his daughters.
Without referencing her absence from the air, she simply shared a series of sweet images of her twin daughters Audrey and Evie celebrating their sixth birthday.
Alex Cullen has broken his silence after Channel Nine dropped him for accepting a $50,000 gift from The Block billionaire Adrian Portelli.
Alex, who shares three children with his wife Bonnie, also shared photos of his son Max, three, enjoying some low-key family time on the special day.
In one caption, she gushed: “Happy birthday to my darling girls Audrey and Evie.”
While he did not mention the ongoing scandal, he received support from his followers, who took advantage of the comments to share their hopes that he will soon return to the air.
One wrote: ‘Happy birthday to not watching channel nine up to your back’, while another said: ‘I miss you! You are the best! Wake up Channel 9.’
A third commented: ‘Beautiful girls. I can’t believe they’re already 6 years old! I just found out about the whole work drama. I hope it is resolved quickly.’
While a fourth wrote: ‘Boycott 9 until you come back!’ and another added: “Happy birthday ladies, hope to see you back home on the 9th very soon.”
Her Nine co-stars Karl Stefanovic and Belinda Russell also commented sweet birthday messages to her two daughters as they appeared to be supportive.
Cullen has been noticeably absent from the Today Show after Nine dropped him and was replaced by Ctint Stanaway on live coverage from Melbourne for the Australian Open.

Portelli has grown tired of his long-standing nickname ‘Mr. Lambo’ and offered the cash reward to the first person to use his new nickname on air, and Cullen accepted it on the Today Show on Friday.
The scandal began when Portelli said he would pay $50,000 to the first media personality to use his new and desired self-proclaimed nickname ‘McLaren Man’ on air in hopes of getting rid of his unwanted nickname ‘Mr. Lambo’.
After Cullen was the first to use the name live on the Today show on Friday, Portelli posted what appeared to be a $50,000 wire transfer to the sports anchor.
Accepting cash, gifts or benefits to undermine journalistic independence and improperly using a journalistic position for personal gain are violations of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Journalist Code of Ethics.
Nine immediately suspended Cullen, who has not appeared on air since, and announced an investigation into the payment, which it said was being returned.
Portelli later claimed on Tuesday that Cullen intended the money to be paid to charities from the beginning and published details of two payments of $25,000 each made on his behalf to the Salvation Army and the RSPCA.
“Alex Cullen… on behalf of you my friend, $25,000 to the Salvation Army and $25,000 to the RSPCA,” Portelli wrote on Instagram.
“I’ve stayed pretty quiet about what happened with Alex, but before I even heard from Ch9, we had a conversation where he expressed his desire to donate the money.
“That says a lot about his character. Alex, you are an absolute gentleman.

Alex was disowned by Nine over the stunt and has been off the air, but broke her silence on social media on Tuesday when she shared photos from her twin daughter’s sixth birthday party.

On Tuesday, Portelli also defended Cullen and claimed he intended the money to be paid to charities, publishing details of two $25,000 payments made to the Salvation Army and the RSPCA.
‘If Ch9 lets you go (although I really hope they don’t!), I’d be more than happy to collaborate with you on something. Real class, mate!’
Max Markson, who has been a prominent public relations agent for 50 years, said that although it was “not normal behavior” for a presenter to accept cash to say something that was not part of his stated endorsements, he believed Cullen had clearly been joking.
“I’m sure they didn’t think they were going to get the $50,000, but then they got it and unfortunately Alex has been retired for the moment, which is crazy,” he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.
“Obviously he shouldn’t have taken the $50,000, but he gave it back. I don’t think that’s the reason they did it, they did it as a joke, obviously.”
However, Markson did not think this would cause any lasting damage to Cullen’s television career and predicted that he will return to the air within seven days.
Nine insiders also told Daily Mail Australia that the stunt could have been beneficial to the network and Portelli, if Cullen had informed the promoter that, as a journalist, he could not accept any payment for making the comment on air.
Portelli first received the unwanted nickname ‘Mr. Lambo’ after showing up at a 2022 auction on the popular home renovation show The Block with a yellow Lamborghini.