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Packer, Gyngell “street brawl” fuels photo bidding war.

Updated: Nine CEO David Gyngell & James Packer issue a 3 sentence statement following reports of a fight in Bondi.

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dvgy.jpgMedia reports today of a street fight involving Nine Entertainment CEO David Gyngell and billionaire and TEN shareholder James Packer have headlines in a spin.

According to various reports:

Gyngell reportedly pulled up on Sir Thomas Mitchell Drive outside Packer’s house yesterday afternoon and engaged in a long and abusive phone call with an unnamed person.

Gyngell allegedly threatened the caller.

Shortly after, Packer arrived, jumped out of the car and a witness said, “just went at each other.”

Images were taken that show the pair in the throwing and receiving punches, eventually falling to the ground and wrestling, before being forcibly separated by people who appeared to be Packer’s bodyguards.

The pair needed to be separated by what appeared to be Packer’s bodyguards and then retreated to their homes.

A paramedic reportedly attended Packer’s home after the altercation.

An intense bidding war for the rights to the photos is now underway via photographic agency Media Mode.

Gyngell served as best man to Packer at his wedding to Erica Baxter in 2007 but Packer and Baxter separated six months ago, around the time when the two men reportedly had a falling out.

Update: The Guardian reports Packer wrongly believed a Nine news crew had waited outside Packer’s home and had called Nine’s chief executive. Gyngell assured Packer it wasn’t true and went over to investigate and discovered a cameraman who lived on the street had left the satellite truck locked outside his home, as is usual in between shifts. Gyngell waited to tell Packer in person but a fight broke out anyway.

The newspaper reports News Corp has purchased the photos.

A briefly worded joint statement today said:

We have been friends for 35 years and still are.

In that time we have had our fair share of ups and downs.

We respect each other and neither of us will be commenting further.

A statement so brief it could have almost been tweeted.

Sources: The Australian, SMH, News, NineMSN

5 Responses

  2. As my daughter asked “Who’s David Gyngell? Is he Bruce Gyngell’s kid?”.
    Lachlan paid $250K and devotes the first 9 pages of his Sydney “Daily Telegraph” to this rubbish.
    @Andrew – Funny, that’s exactly what my wife (ex 70’s Nine employee) said. Grow up Jamie and Dave.
    7 & ABC24 seemed to be more into ridiculing Lachlan and his 9 pages.

  3. To us, it’s two mega rich people fighting – and what a spectacle it is. I imagine for those two, they love and hate each other in equal measures like some brothers do, and in a heated argument some fisticuffs ensued. I am sure for a moment they forgot they were in their forties. Big deal from the outside looking in, but maybe not such a big deal to them. Having said that Channel 7 will have a field day if they get their hands on the footage

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