A 77-year-old man who calls himself ‘The Chich’ has admitted to being at the centre of a cocaine-snorting video which featured footy stars and a Bachelorette-winning pub baron.
The leaked video showed a man snorting cocaine from a plate while NRL player Corey Norman, rugby union star Kurtley Beale and millionaire Stu Laundy laugh and look on at a home in affluent Kirribilli on Sydney’s North Shore.
‘The Chich’ confirmed he was the man snorting white powder in the video, which he said was cocaine.
‘We just had a few drinks and a bit of fun that’s all. We didn’t hurt anybody,’ he told the Daily Telegraph.
‘I enjoy life. I did nothing wrong. It is not that I forced anybody to have it. I had a line, so what. It is not a big thing.
‘The only concern I have had was for my daughter. She wasn’t so happy with me being on television snorting with those footballers or whatever they were.’
NRL bad boy Corey Norman (pictured) briefly appears briefly in the footage
A 77-year-old man who calls himself ‘The Chich’ has admitted to being at the centre of a cocaine-snorting video which has embroiled footy stars and a Bachelorette-winning pub baron
Millionaire Sydney pub baron Stu Laundy has also admitted to being in the video showing Norman encouraging ‘The Chich’ to snort white powder.
The leaked 14-second video was posted to Facebook page NRL Memes on Monday night.
The video was allegedly earlier used to blackmail Norman in an attempt to get money from him, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Despite The Chich’s claims, father-of-four and and Bachelorette winner Stu Laundy told Daily Mail Australia the substance was flour and said the video was ‘actually so harmless it’s laughable’.
Laundy described ‘The Chich’ as ‘part of Sydney folklore’ and explained he had the three younger men ‘mesmerised with stories from his youth’.
Laundy says the harmless explanation for the supposedly outrageous video’s contents is simple: it’s a common ingredient found in most kitchens.
‘He was telling this particular story about a bloke called Kevin and it required some props,’ he said.
‘I believe [he] got some flour from the kitchen to aid in his story telling.’
In the footage, Norman can be heard in the background saying ‘tell the young blood’ before he erupts into laughter, making a brief appearance in the video.
The video then turns to Laundy and Beale sitting on a couch laughing.
‘We just enjoyed a few beers that day,’ Laundy said of the day’s events.
‘Corey was with us but was not celebrating due to his team taking the wooden spoon that season,’ he said.
The video attracted 124,000 views, more than 400 shares and thousands of comments within hours of being posted.
Laundy and Beale also feature in the video, laughing as ‘The Chich’ snorts white powder
Norman’s new club St George Illawarra Dragons released a statement shortly after the video was leaked.
‘The St George Illawarra Dragons have been made aware of a video circulating on social media of Corey Norman from several years ago,’ the statement read.
‘The Dragons informed the NRL Integrity Unit on Monday afternoon. The Integrity Unit have since confirmed they have previously been made aware of the footage and dealt with it accordingly at the time. The club will make no further comment.’
The video was reportedly filmed by former Parramatta Eels star playmaker and sent to his teammates via Snapchat.
Wallabies rugby union star Kurtley Beale has also admitted to being in the video, calling Rugby Australia chief executive Raelene Castle to apologise after the vision became public.
Beale said he did not use illicit substances on that day. Ms Castle said she understood the video was filmed in 2016.
Corey Norman’s new NRL club St George Illawarra confirmed they aware of the leaked video
‘After becoming aware that the vision was being shared on social media, Kurtley contacted me last night to apologise for the negative attention the video had attracted and expressed regret at putting himself in a compromising position at that time,’ she said.
A different video which circulated at the time is believed to show Norman and a naked woman in a sex act, where he appears to pour beer over the woman.
The release of the latest leaked video followed a lewd video of Dylan Napa having sex with a woman last week, before a second film showing a solo sex act was shared at the weekend.
The two separate videos were believed to have been taken more than four years ago and Napa is now considering legal action.
He was suspended for eight weeks and was fined $20,000 for breaches of conduct in 2016 including filming sexual activity and consorting with known criminals.
After beginning his career with the Brisbane Broncos, Norman spent five seasons with Parramatta before he signed a new three year deal with St George Illawarra last month.
Millionaire Sydney pub baron Stu Laundy has also admitted to being in the video showing Norman encouraging ‘The Chich’ to snort white powder