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Kyle Sandilands has shared his controversial opinion on Alex Cullen being stood down after accepting a $50,000 gift from The Block billionaire Adrian Portelli.
TV presenter Cullen, 44, was gifted the sizeable sum from Portelli after he was the first media personality to use his new self-given nickname 'McLaren Man' live on air.
Portelli has grown tired of his long-used nickname 'Mr Lambo' and offered the cash reward to the first media personality to use his new moniker, with Cullen obliging on the Today Show on Friday.
It then emerged that Channel Nine was looking into the payment and Cullen agreed to step down after the ill-advised on-air stunt.
Radio shock jock Kyle, 53, has weighed into the controversy and gave his surprising opinion on the matter on Monday morning's KIIS FM radio show.
Returning for his first program back after his summer break, Kyle controversially insisted he didn't understand why anyone 'cared' about the payment.
Kyle Sandilands has shared his controversial opinion on Alex Cullen being stood down after accepting a $50,000 gift from The Block billionaire Adrian Portelli
He said: 'He's a very good presenter this Alex guy. He makes a quick $50,000 on that, does anyone care about that?'
'I don't like the whole vibe of it,' Kyle added of the backlash to Cullen's stunt.
Accepting cash, gifts or benefits to undermine journalistic independence, and improperly using a journalistic position for personal gain, are both breaches of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Journalist Code of Ethics.
Cullen was notably absent from the Today Show on Monday morning after being stood down by Nine.
He was replaced by Clint Stanaway in reporting live from Melbourne for the Australian Open, but they made no reference to the controversy during the show.
Karl Stefanovic asked Stanaway: 'Anything going on down there mate?'
To which he replied: 'Very quiet, just trying to find a story' as he reported on the action from the esteemed tennis championship.
TV presenter Cullen, 44, was gifted the sizeable sum from Portelli after he was the first media personality to use his new self-given nickname 'McLaren Man' live on air
Portelli first received the unwanted nickname 'Mr Lambo' after turning up to a 2022 auction of popular house makeover show The Block in a yellow Lamborghini.
In a bid to ditch the moniker, he offered a $50,000 cash reward to the first member of the media to use his new nickname, with Cullen uttering the words on the Today Show.
During the ill-advised on-air stunt, Stefanovic quickly repeated the line and joked that the two presenters would split the prize money if Portelli paid up.
Portelli then took to social media to share what appeared to be a bank transfer of $50,000 to Cullen.
'We have a winner! Well played sir,' he wrote alongside the screenshot.
Channel Nine said Cullen had agreed to step down on Saturday while the network looked into the payment.
'Nine is taking this matter extremely seriously,' a spokesperson told the Sunday Herald Sun.
'Appropriate action has been promptly taken, including arranging for the funds to be returned.
Portelli had grown tired of his long-used nickname 'Mr Lambo' and offered a reward to the first media personality to use his new moniker, with Cullen obliging on the Today Show (pictured)
'While we review the circumstances in which this occurred, Alex has agreed to stand down.'
Nine insiders said the stunt could have been beneficial for the network and Portelli, if Cullen had advised the promoter that, as a journalist, he was unable to accept any payment for making the comment on-air.
'What Alex should have done is refuse to accept any money and told Portelli to donate it directly to a charity instead - that's if he was going to get involved in the stunt at all,' one network insider told Daily Mail Australia.
Portelli has since come under fire for urging his fans to bombard female journalist Fiona Byrne online after she revealed Nine was investigating Cullen over the cash for comment scandal.
Thousands of cyberbullies flooded her social media with vile and misogynistic slurs after Portelli urged his 461,000 Instagram followers to 'bully' Byrne, even offering a cash prize for the best takedown.
'Come on Fiona. You can do better than that,' he posted on Instagram.
'Be respectful and use my real name or I'll come up with a nickname for you and blast it all over my socials.'
Portelli then called on his followers to suggest appropriate nicknames for Byrne before encouraging fans to 'bully' her online.
It then emerged that Channel Nine was looking into the payment and Cullen agreed to step down after the ill-advised on-air stunt (pictured: Adrian Portelli)
'If journos wanna bully, let's bully back,' he wrote before tagging her personal account and offering the prize money.
'$5,000 best comment on [Ms Byrne's] profile.'
The Rich Lister's call-to-arms saw the award-winning journalist's account inundated with inappropriate and false remarks about her appearance and professionalism.
Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to repeat any of the comments.
Portelli later issued what appeared to be a further 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'.
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