The now-viral footage of the altercation between The Australian’s Liam Mendes and Nine chair Peter Costello might make football fans yearn for better times, when a good old-fashioned hip-and-shoulder was still socially acceptable.
Mendes approached Costello at Canberra Airport to ask a number of questions relating to CEO Mike Sneesby and the company’s handling of recent allegations of sexual harassment and bullying.
In the footage, Costello does not respond to several questions relating to Sneesby, before Mendes, holding the camera, stands directly in front of him to insist: “You’ve got to answer the questions, Mr Costello”. Costello then appears to approach the camera closely before Mendes appears to fall backwards, exclaiming that he had just been “assaulted”.
The former federal treasurer, speaking to his own papers afterwards, rubbished the suggestion and said he “did not strike [Mendes].”
A spokesperson for Nine also said that “at no point did the chairman strike the journalist”, although this contrasts with witness accounts reported by The Australian that claim Costello “shoulder-barged” Mendes and “knocked him flying”.
While a number of outlets have reported Mendes’ allegations, including The Australian itself with the headline “Nine chairman Peter Costello knocks over reporter from The Australian at Canberra Airport”, Costello did not respond in time for publication to questions from Crikey as to whether he had contacted outlets in respect of the coverage, or whether he intended to pursue defamation proceedings.
The Daily Telegraph’s Kristi Miller, who infamously had her own physical run-in with Oscar-winning actor Mel Gibson in 2015, told Crikey that “regardless of the situation, no-one has the right to push or shove anyone under any circumstance. Liam is a journalist just going about his business, doing his job.”
Of course it’s by no means the first time a public figure has gotten into an altercation with paparazzi. So as the media world debates whether Mendes deserved what he got (or indeed, whether Costello did in fact shove him), we cast our minds back to some other similar incidents in recent memory.
Mel Gibson vs The Daily Telegraph
Oscar-winning star of Mad Max and Braveheart Mel Gibson once infamously had a bust-up with Miller outside the Palace Verona cinema on Sydney’s Oxford Street in 2015. Miller told the media at the time that Gibson was “spitting in [her] face as he was yelling”.
Gibson denied the allegations, and a subsequent complaint to New South Wales Police ended without charge.
Taylor Swift’s dad vs Matrix Pictures
An Australian photographer was at the centre of an international saga earlier this year after he claimed Taylor Swift’s father Scott punched him while the pop star was in Sydney for the Australian leg of her world tour.
Matrix photo agency head Ben McDonald alleged that Scott Swift assaulted him on Sydney’s ferry wharves in February, telling media that “as [Taylor] got in the car her dad [decided] to charge me and punch me in the chops”.
A spokesperson for the Swift family denied the allegation in a statement, and Scott Swift was not charged after an investigation by New South Wales Police.
Jacob Elordi vs Kyle and Jackie O
Actor Jacob Elordi made headlines earlier this year when he was accosted by a producer for KIIS FM’s Kyle and Jackie O Show at Sydney’s Clovelly Hotel.
Producer Joshua Fox said that he had asked Elordi whether he could have some of his bathwater for host Jackie O’s birthday, a reference to a scene in Elordi’s hit 2023 movie Saltburn.
According to Fox, Elordi asked him to stop filming — a request which was refused — before pushing Fox against a wall.
New South Wales Police commenced an investigation into the incident, saying in a statement that a 32-year-old man was allegedly assaulted by a 26-year-old man at about 3.30pm on February 3.
“Inquiries into the incident are continuing,” police said.
Sebastian Costello vs Ricky Nixon
Today also isn’t the first time a member of the Costello family has been involved in an on-air altercation. Peter’s son Sebastian, a reporter for Nine, was struck by celebrity former AFL agent Ricky Nixon while working for A Current Affair in 2022.
Under questioning on the street by Costello about an IV infusion business venture, Nixon physically turned away from both Costello and Seven’s Teegan Dolling before turning around with a raised elbow, striking Costello.
Nixon told media at the time that Nine had contacted police in relation to the incident.
