A veteran Sydney journalist is suing an Oxford Street nightclub for defamation after a bouncer told him he couldn't come in because he was "way too drunk", claiming he was excluded because of his age.

Richard Sleeman, 62, who has worked for many of Sydney's major newspapers, and radio stations 2UE and 2GB, says he was "hurt, humiliated and ridiculed" by the bouncer at Palms on Oxford as he waited to get in on December 23, 2011.

"Hurt, humiliated and ridiculed": Richard Sleeman. Credit:Dallas Kilponen

"The doorman was four to five metres away and he pointed above the heads of the people and said quite loudly and pointedly, 'You're way too drunk, you can't come in,'" Mr Sleeman told Sydney District Court.

"He said, 'Go away and sober up somewhere else.'"