Weekend Sunrise co-host Matt Doran has become a household name in recent days following his disastrous interview with Adele, where he admitted to the singer that he hadn’t listened to her highly-anticipated new album, 30.
During the 20-minute interview in London earlier this month, Matt reportedly didn’t ask any questions about the record, prompting Sony to block Channel Seven from using the interview footage.
The network was then forced to hastily piece together clips of artists covering Adele for the One Night Only special which aired on Sunday.
Matt Doran said he missed an email that contained Adele’s album.
(Instagram)“When I sat down to interview Adele, I was totally unaware that I’d been emailed a preview of her unreleased album,” Matt told The Australian on Monday.
“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. This is the most important email I have ever missed.”
Dozens of media heavyweights, celebrities and entertainment journalists have offered their two cents on the now-infamous interview, which reportedly cost Channel Seven $1 million.
Matt admitted to Adele that he hadn’t listened to her new album, 30.
(Instagram)Radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands defended Matt on his KIIS breakfast show on Tuesday, calling for the industry to give him a break.
“Why is everyone up in arms over this poor bastard? He’s the Weekend Sunrise guy. He’s not the normal go-to celebrity interviewer … He looks like a nice fella too,” Kyle told co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson.
“This is where record companies go wrong, they want the interviewers to ask all these detailed questions about the record that no one has ever heard. It’s dumb … No one likes those interviews.”
Jackie responded: “I don’t believe they’re expecting the whole interview to be about the record but to have no questions [about it]?
“The record company would have flown him over, they would’ve paid for it, so I think the least he could do is ask a couple of questions about the reason you’re over there. I think it’s courteous Kyle.”
Fellow radio stars Ben Fordham, of 2GB, and contributor Ray Hadley also weighed in on the saga, with Ray branding Matt a “blockhead” for not being better prepared.
Kyle Sandilands defended Matt, calling for the industry to give him a break.
(KIIS)Ben disagreed with his co-host, admitting he sympathised with Matt over the unfortunate situation.
“I feel sorry for him because he is a very smart bloke, he is a very decent person and all he saw in his inbox was an e-copy to Adele and he thought it was some sort of card,” Ben said.
Ray responded: “If you are going to interview Adele and she has got an album for the first time in a number of years … Don’t feel sorry for him. He is a blockhead.
“You and I differ on many things in relation to people who are blockheads. I am telling you, he is a blockhead.”
Meanwhile, sources have said that Adele stormed out of the interview, but Matt has refuted the claims, as well as saying that he was “mortified” that he “missed” an email containing a copy of Adele’s album in question.
“Adele didn’t storm out. In fact, it was the polar opposite,” he said. “What was meant to be 20 minutes was extended to 29 minutes. The majority of the chat was about the album. I told her: ‘I’ve only had the privilege of hearing Easy on Me, but not the other tracks’.
“As part of a long discussion about the new album, I remark that it would be reductive to say it’s about heartbreak and divorce; instead, it’s about empowerment and hope.”
He also denied that he had been suspended from Weekend Sunrise for two weeks over the gaffe.
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