"We'll miss him terribly": Alex Cullen steps down from Today
Alex Cullen is "stepping down permanently" from Today after accepting a huge cash prize from billionaire Adrian Portelli.
After Cullen referred to Portelli as "McLaren Man" on the Channel Nine morning show and pocketed $50,000 for using Portelli's preferred moniker, Cullen disappeared from screens for several days for breaching the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) Journalist Code of Ethics.
Despite handing the money back, which has since been donated to charity, Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo confirmed on Friday morning that Cullen would not be retuning to the show.
“As most of you are well aware, our colleague Alex Cullen has not been on air with us this past week,” Stefanovic said.
“There has been widespread reporting on the circumstances surrounding this, what I can say is that last night, Alex and Nine agreed that he would finish with the network."
“Alex has, of course, been part of the Today family for five years now, he’s always ready with a smile and a laugh and without hesitation speaking for all of us here, we can say that we are going to miss him terribly, that’s for sure."
“Alex is a terrific fella, what you see is what you get and he has been a great mate to all of us over these years and we wish Alex, his wife Bonnie and his beautiful kids all the very best for the future.”
The scandal began when Portelli put a call out on social media, challenging journalists to refer to him publicly as "McLaren Man" instead of his common nickname "Lambo Guy", which he earned after showing up to The Block auctions in a bright yellow Lamborghini.
Portelli said whoever completed the challenge would earn a hefty cash prize, and after Cullen used the new nickname live on Today just hours later, Portelli shared a screenshot of a bank transfer to Cullen for a whopping $50,000.
Image credits: Today