Billionaire Adrian Portelli has escalated his war of words with a star journalist after she criticized him in an article published Monday night under the headline “I’ll tell you what you can do with your $50,000, Portelli.”
On Saturday, Portelli encouraged his 461,000 Instagram followers to “bully” Fiona Byrne – and even offered $5,000 for the best elimination – after revealing he felt she had “disrespected” him.
“What followed was over 24 hours in which my Instagram was bombarded by thousands of vile, degrading, offensive, misleading, insulting, factually incorrect and just plain stupid and ridiculous comments,” Byrne wrote in the Herald of the sun.
Portelli had taken offense after Byrne revealed that Channel Nine was investigating one of its top stars, Alex Cullen, for accepting $50,000 from him in an explosive cash-for-comments scandal.
The highly respected Byrne said she had been called shit, c***, bitch, dog, ogre, pig, fat bulldog and prostitute, among many other names, and was also threatened with physical violence.
She demanded an apology from Portelli and said the barrage of hate made her feel “unsafe, both online and in real life.”
Byrne also told Portelli what he wants him to do with the money.
“How about we donate the $50,000 that was going to be given to Cullen to an anti-bullying and cyberbullying charity like Dolly’s Dream or the Alannah & Madeline Foundation?” Byrne wrote.
Billionaire Adrian Portelli (pictured) has escalated his war of words with a star journalist after she criticized him in an article published on Monday night.
On Saturday, Portelli encouraged his 461,000 Instagram followers to “intimidate” Fiona Byrne (pictured), even offering $5,000 for the best takedown.
Portelli, however, was far from apologizing. Addressing Byrne on social media, he wrote: “It’s time for you to get a taste of your own medicine.” There is no harassment here.
“I just want to make it clear that it’s not nice to refer to someone with a nickname that you’ve been politely told not to use.”
There are now calls for authorities to investigate the 35-year-old businesswoman after thousands of cyberbullies flooded her social media account with vile and misogynistic insults.
The incident unfolded after Byrne reported that Today show sports anchor Alex Cullen had been removed from service for accepting a $50,000 cash payment from Portelli as part of a reckless on-air stunt.
The businessman then took umbrage at being called “Lambo Guy” in the headline of Byrne’s story.
‘Come on Fiona. “You can do better than that,” he posted on Instagram.
“Be respectful and use my real name or I will create a nickname for you and post it on all my social media.”
Billionaire promoter Adrian Portelli explains why he encouraged his 461,000 followers to ‘bully’ respected Herald’s Sun journalist Fiona Byrne on social media.
Today show sports presenter Alex Cullen has been stood down as Nine investigates the cash-for-comments scandal.
Portelli then asked her followers to suggest appropriate nicknames for Ms Byrne before encouraging her fans to “bully” her online.
“If journalists want to harass, let’s do it too,” he wrote before tagging her personal account and offering her the prize money.
“$5,000 for the best comment on (Ms. Byrne’s) profile.”
Rich Lister’s call to arms saw the award-winning and highly regarded journalist’s account inundated with inappropriate and false comments about her appearance and professionalism.
Portelli later issued what appeared to be a new 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 nickname after arriving at the 2022 auction of Nine’s reality show The Block in a bright orange Lamborghini Murcielago SV.
‘Just to clear things up, I don’t have any problem with journalists, do I? “They have a job to do,” he explained in a clip posted to his Instagram account on Saturday night.
Portelli earned the nickname ‘Lambo Guy’ after arriving at The Block auction in 2022 with a bright orange Lamborghini Murcielago SV.
‘They have food to put on the table, like each and every one of us, right?
‘I have had many encounters with journalists over the years. They have all been positive… I now consider many of these journalists my friends.
‘So they are good people. Whether they write a good article about me or a negative one about me, there is nothing wrong with that. I don’t have any problem with that.
‘If I have given them a platform to write a negative article, that is completely my fault and it is no one’s fault but my own. However, once you disrespect me, I’m going to put my foot down.
‘I feel like they’re subconsciously trying to demean me by giving me this nickname, (Lambo Guy), and I’m over it.
‘Unfortunately, Fiona got the worst of it. I have told him many, many times to stop. She didn’t do it. She did it.
‘So I just wanted to show the media that I have a platform too. I can generate a lot of traffic and I’m not afraid to use it. So maybe be a little more respectful and I’ll respect you.”
Prominent Sydney lawyer Richard Mitry told Daily Mail Australia he was shocked by Portelli’s conduct and said authorities must stamp out any attempt to use social media to intimidate and harass people, or incite others to do so. .
‘We are talking about a journalist, a human being like any other, who is being singled out and subjected to abuse. This is something serious,’ he said.
“As for the authorities, there is a time when they have to show some teeth and send the message that this kind of thing is completely unacceptable. Because if he can get away with it, everyone else will think they can get away with it too.
Former New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner Mick Willing echoed the concerns, saying cyber bullying and cyberbullying was a crime and had absolutely no place in society.
“Encouraging people to bully and bully others online, regardless of their age, gender or profession, is completely unacceptable,” the decorated former deputy commissioner said.
“I really hope the lady at the center of this deplorable attack is okay – no one deserves to be attacked like that.”
Daily Mail Australia contacted Portelli for comment on the incident through his company, LMCT+.
Byrne declined to comment.
The nasty row came after Nine confirmed it had taken Cullen off air and was taking its decision to accept $50,000 from Portelli “extremely seriously”.
The promoter has attracted a legion of dedicated followers on social media.
Former NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Mick Willing says cyber bullying and harassment was a crime and had absolutely no place in society.
The sports journalist, who joined the Today show five years ago, found himself in trouble after Portelli said last week that he was sick of being called ‘Lambo Guy’ and would give $50,000 to the first journalist to publicly refer to him. he. his new self-proclaimed nickname of ‘McLaren Man’.
Cullen fulfilled the request live during an Australian Open crossover with Today colleagues Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo on Friday morning.
The 44-year-old, who already has a $250,000-a-year contract with the Today show, posted a clip of the exchange on Instagram and even brought Portelli to the video’s attention by tagging the billionaire promoter.
It worked: Portelli soon reposted the vision along with a caption that read, “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 informed the promoter that, as a journalist, he could not 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 violations of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Journalist Code of Ethics.
“What Alex should have done is refuse to accept money and tell Portelli to donate it directly to a charity, that is if he was going to get involved in the stunt,” a network insider told Daily Mail Australia.
Alex Cullen has been dropped after he and his Today show co-star Karl Stefanovic dropped Adrian Portelli’s new nickname during a live crossover from the Australian Open on Friday.
“Portelli is a great promoter, he could even have doubled the amount and everyone, including a deserving charity, would have looked great.”
That didn’t happen.
Instead, on Friday night, Portelli posted a screenshot of a bank transfer that showed he had deposited $50,000 into Cullen’s personal account.
“Alex is not an entertainer; he may be on the Today show, but he is supposed to be a serious journalist,” a network source said.
‘What he has done is completely blurred the lines here and made it look like Nine’s journalism and journalists are for sale.
“It’s a terrible look and serious questions need to be asked about why he would think it was even remotely okay to do that – it’s literally cash for commenting.”
Nine said the money would be returned to Portelli and agreed that those serious questions would have to be answered before Cullen had any hope of returning to the network’s airwaves.
“Nine is taking this matter very seriously,” a Nine spokesperson said.
‘Appropriate action has been taken quickly, including the return of funds.
“While we review the circumstances under which this occurred, Alex has agreed to retire.”
Cullen has remained silent in the wake of the sandal and did not respond to a request to discuss the matter on Sunday.