Bob Murphy sorry for bizarre Spearmint Rhino strip club quip to ABC co-host Sharnelle Vella

Bob Murphy has apologised to his ABC co-host Sharnelle Vella for a “gross” joke about strip club Spearmint Rhino, with the former footballer saying he had broken his promise to “never disrespect her”.

ABC Melbourne radio host Bob Murphy has apologised to his co-host Sharnelle Vella for making a “gross” off-hand quip on their breakfast program on Wednesday.

Murphy shocked listeners when he joked Vella had worked at notorious strip club Spearmint Rhino, as she talked with a guest about her first job.

The former Western Bulldogs captain said he needed to speak on the inappropriate reference.

“I think I need to address that publicly to apologise,” Murphy said on Thursday.

“I did make a comment that insinuated my colleague and co-host Sharnelle here worked at Spearmint Rhino, a well known Melbourne strip club.

“Cutting straight to the point, it was not just a mistake, it was a gross and inaccurate off hand quip. I promised Sharnelle that I’d never disrespect her and I did break that promise put simply. I’m really sorry.”

Vella was disappointed but accepted the apology.

“I won’t let you off the hook on it. It wasn’t OK,” she said.

“I appreciate your words but we do move on.”

The Spearmint Rhino was a longstanding strip club on Melbourne’s King St.

The pair was interviewing Elinor Kasapidis, Chief of Policy, Standards & External Affairs at CPA Australia, just before the 7.30am news.

They were discussing the importance of seeking financial and tax advice from registered professionals instead of from social media influencers.

“I remember when I worked in retail many moons ago when I was still in high school,” Vella said.

Murphy chimed in: “Not at Spearmint Rhino, the other one.”

Vella simply said “no” and continued on; “I couldn’t afford to go to a financial advisor so I was doing my tax return myself.”

She handled the comment professionally but the Herald Sun received feedback from listeners that it was inappropriate.

An ABC spokesperson said Murphy made an attempt at humour which was out of context.

“On yesterday’s program Bob Murphy made an inappropriate comment about his co-presenter Sharnelle Vella. Bob intended to humorously reference a conversation from an earlier program, however, the comment was out of context in that moment and Bob acknowledges it was inappropriate. Sharnelle has accepted Bob’s apology and wants to move on from the incident.”

Spearmint Rhino is a strip club chain with venues in the Melbourne CBD, across Australia, the UK and the US.

Sharnelle Vella and Bob Murphy took over as breakfast hosts in 2025. Picture: Supplied

Murphy was criticised recently by rival radio presenter, Tom Elliott, for being “woke” for using the term AFLM to describe the AFL.

“Does anybody else honestly want to call the AFL the AFLM?” Elliott said on his 3AW Mornings program.

“In America, you have the NBA and then the WNBA, that works fine.

“I think he (Murphy) is the only person who does this. He persists in calling the AFL the AFLM … that is wokeness.”

The duo, who began on air in January after replacing comedian Sammy J, have so far failed to make an impact in the radio ratings with the latest survey at the start of May showing they dipped from 6.3 to 5.6.

Overall the public broadcaster slumped to a new low with its share of radio listeners across all Monday to Friday timeslots.