TVT Vault: Packer, Gyngell in “street brawl”

Biffo, dust ups, street brawls… Australian media has had its share, including in 2014 when blokes at the top of the food chain were caught on camera in a Bondi street scrap.

Originally published  5th May 2014

Media 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.

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.

News Corp ended up buying the photos.

In 2015, Gyngell later admitted, “I went down to hit him. He didn’t come down to my place to punch me, I went down to his place so it’s very difficult to say we were equally to blame, because actually there have been times when we have been equally to blame but on that one it was me.”