Australian journalist botches exclusive Adele interview after admitting he hadn’t heard her new album

‘It was an oversight, not a deliberate snub,’ says journalist Matt Doran

An Australian TV journalist was left red-faced during an exclusive interview with Adele when he told the singer he hadn’t heard her new album 30.

Channel Seven’s Matt Doran, who hosts the breakfast show Weekend Sunrise, has since apologised to the singer, admitting to The Australian that he was “mortified and unequivocally apologetic” over the incident.

Doran reportedly flew to London on 4 November, ahead of the 19 November release of 30, for an exclusive interview with the 33-year-old singer, as part of a A$1m (£539,065) package deal that included streaming rights to the CBS TV special Adele: One Night Only.

Doran did not ask the British singer-songwriter a single question about her new album over the course of the 20-30 minute interview, according to The Daily Telegraph.

When the “Easy On You” hitmaker asked Doran what he thought about 30, he reportedly said he hadn’t heard it.

Some reports said Adele “stormed out” of the interview after this, and that the Channel Seven journalist has been suspended for two weeks.

However, Doran clarified to The Australian on Sunday (21 November) that Adele did not stop the interview, but that it went on for nine more minutes after the gaffe. He also denied reports that he had been “formally” suspended by Channel Seven, despite being off the air for one weekend.

“Adele didn’t storm out. In fact, it was the polar opposite. What was meant to be 20 minutes was extended to 29 minutes,” he said.

On why he hadn’t heard the album ahead of the high-stakes interview, Doran said that he did not know he had received an e-copy of 30 when he sat down to interview Adele.

“I have since discovered it was sent to me as an ‘e card’ link, which I somehow missed upon landing in London. It was an oversight but not a deliberate snub,” Doran said. “This is the most important email I have ever missed.”

Although the interview with Doran has been filmed, Adele’s label Sony has denied Channel Seven the permission to air it. Doran said he had “implored Sony to release” the interview.

Neither the music label nor Adele have publicly commented on the incident so far.

However, fellow journalists criticised Doran’s “shoddy” lack of preparation over such an important interview.

ABC’s Marc Fennell tweeted: “I’ve spent over a decade interviewing major actors, musicians around the world. Negotiating access, researching for genuinely interesting convo? That’s the hard part. Literally the *easiest* part is listening to the album on a 14hr (likely biz class) flight.”

Meanwhile, ABC political correspondent Matthew Doran asked social media users to go easy on him, after they confused him with the Weekend Sunrise host and he began receiving a torrent of critical messages online.