Australian moguls in street brawl 'over Miranda Kerr'
Two of Australia’s top businessmen caught scrapping in the street over lingerie model
JAMES PACKER, Australia’s richest man, and David Gyngell, the head of one of the country’s largest television networks, were seen in a street brawl near Bondi Beach that has “captivated the nation”.
Onlookers said that Gyngell waited 20 minutes by his SUV for Packer to arrive in a chauffer-driven car at his Bondi home. The pair then "went at it hammer and tongs" in a brawl in which one of the two men lost two teeth, the Daily Telegraph reports.
According to The Times, the fracas came about after Gyngell’s Channel Nine network parked a news van outside Packer’s house hoping to video Packer alongside the Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In recent weeks, rumours have circulated that Packer, the son of the late media mogul Kerry, has been seeing Kerr after separating from his second wife, Erica Baxter, six months ago. “Packer was furious because he believed a Channel Nine camera crew was lying in wait to try to catch him with his alleged girlfriend”, The Times says.
Packer had previously telephoned Gyngell, his former best friend and best man, to object to the presence of the van. After a heated argument, Gyngell drove to Packer’s house to confront him, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The casino magnate’s neighbour, Chris Walker, who witnessed the fight, said on his Facebook page that when Packer arrived home, Gyngell called him “every name under the sun”.
Walker wrote: “Packer puckered a punch but copped a couple of hits straight to the jaw. Then they all fell on the concrete fence and I think the other guy broke his face.”
Photographer Brendan Beirne who was also at the scene sold images of the brawl to Rupert Murdoch’s publishing house News Corp Australia for an estimated £118,000.
The pictures were splashed across the front page of Australia’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. The publication’s website also published a short video of the two businessmen being wrestled apart by security guards.
Channel Nine issued a joint statement yesterday saying that in spite of the clash, the pair remained friends and during the course of their 35-year friendship had weathered their “fair share of ups and downs”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published