An Australian television presenter has issued an apology to Adele and her fans after turning up to an interview with the star without listening to her new album.
Weekend Sunrise Matt Doran made headlines around the world last week after he sat down for a one-on-one interview with the 'Rolling In The Deep' singer. Initial reports claimed that Adele "walked out" of the interview after Doran failed to ask a "single question" about the album. Further reports stated that Doran had subsequently been pulled from the Weekend Sunrise show for two weeks as a result.
Per the Daily Telegraph, Sony did record the interview but have refused to release the footage.
Now, 37-year-old Doran has issued an on-air apology during the most recent episode of Weekend Sunrise, as well as revealing his version of events.
Speaking directly to the camera, Doran admitted that he does "deserve" the "bulk of the savaging", but insists that the situation was all down to a "terrible mistake".
Watch Doran's full apology below:Doran continued: "I flew to London to interview Adele, an unspeakable privilege and what was to be one of the highlights of my career.
"I made the terrible mistake of assuming we weren't to be given a preview a copy of this album, because our interview was airing before it was released and Adele's album was the industry's most-prized secret."
However, the presenter then revealed that after landing in London, he did receive a link to the album in an email from Sony. He claims it did not mention Adele and came through the evening prior to the interview taking place.
"The genuine, dead-set, hand on heart truth is that I missed it. By an absurdly long margin, the most important email I've ever missed in my life," Doran said.
Doran then insisted that Adele never walked out of the interview - but rather, the pair actually went overtime. “Adele didn’t walk out," he said.
"At least half of the interview focused squarely on the new music," Doran said, insisting that he believed it would be "reductive" to discuss the album being purely about her divorce from ex-husband Simon Konecki.
Instead, Doran said that his angle on the album was "about empowerment", adding how it "would inspire to summon the courage to steer their lives in a new direction."
He continued:
"We spoke of the paradox of being one of the world’s most famous artists, but hating fame. And the concept of pure artistry,” he told viewers.
"We also discussed at length the majesty of Adele’s voice, what it must be like to hear that come out of one’s own mouth, how Easy On Me was conceived … and how her album helped repair her relationship with her now-late father.
"Throughout the 29 minutes, she was very funny, then raw... Adele was profound, then honest about her depression - honest enough to describe it as ‘end-of-the-world stuff’."
Doran then issued an apology directly to Adele and her Australian fans, saying: "By missing the album link, however I might try to justify it, I’ve insulted Adele.
"To Adele, I say, I’d never knowingly have disrespected you by deliberately not listening to your work, I am so sorry. I also apologize to Adele’s Australian fans, and to you, our viewers, who – through my error – have been denied this interview and the insight into her character."