With a cry of “You are a greedy billionaire!” a man leaped from his seat in the hearing room and struck Murdoch with a plate of shaving cream. According to CNN‘s Jonathan Wald, who was in the the hearing, Rupert Murdoch was hit “squarely in the face.” Other reports suggest the cream only dirtied Murdoch’s jacket.
As soon as the assailant attacked Murdoch, the CEO’s wife Wendi Deng started hitting the man as police rushed in to detain the individual.
There is some speculation the assailant goes by the name Jonnie Marbles, an activist and comedian based in the UK. His latest tweet read: “It is a far better thing that I do now than I have ever done before #splat”
The hearing was suspended for 10 minutes before resuming.
Murdoch, his son James and former News International head Rebekah Brooks are appearing before British MPs to answer questions about the phone hacking scandal embroiling the media empire. Murdoch Sr. opened the hearing by saying, “This is the most humble day of my life.”
