Controversy
In 2006 the Walkley Awards ceremony descended into chaos when Glenn Milne physically and verbally attacked rival journalist Stephen Mayne live on stage.
As presenter Mayne prepared to present an award to Morgan Mellish of The Australian Financial Review, a "red-faced" and "seemingly intoxicated" Milne lurched onto the stage before launching a tirade of verbal abuse at Mayne; Milne then lunged at Mayne and pushed him off the stage, screaming at Mayne that he was "a disgrace".
"I could see from his sort of wild eyes, and his red face, that he was clearly very drunk, and I thought, you know, heck, this is going to be out of control," said Mayne, who suffered a sore ankle from the altercation."And next thing I know, I'd been shoved off the stage and I was hurtling through the air, in a four-foot drop onto the floor."
Milne charged at Mayne a second time before being restrained by security, who ejected the disheveled Milne from the event. Mayne then gathered himself at the microphone, jokingly quipping "That is the former Sunday Telegraph political correspondent Glenn Milne, sponsored by Fosters."
The following day, Milne apologised for the outburst, admitting he was drunk and had taken migraine pills.
Read more about this topic: Walkley Awards
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