Seven boss says Adele interview scandal was ‘disappointing’

Seven Network CEO, James Warburton, has spoken out about Sunrise‘s Adele interview scandal after the singer was left offended by host Matt Doran who hadn’t listened to her new album.

After it was reported that Doran was suspended for two weeks for the stuff-up, the Sunrise journalist denied the claims. However, Doran later issued an on-air apology for his “terrible mistake” saying that he deserved the “bulk of the savaging” he had received online.

“(An email from Sony) didn’t mention Adele but did contain a link to her album,” Doran said. “The genuine, deadset truth is that I missed it, the most important email I’ve ever missed in my life.”

Sony exercised its veto rights to the interview and, as a result of the stuff-up, it was never aired.

Warburton spoke to News.com.au about the debacle, saying it is “obviously disappointing”.

“The extra piece to that would have obviously been some exclusivity and that would have been great content for Sunrise and Sunday Night the week before to promote the special, and we didn’t get that and that’s really disappointing,” Warburton said.

Seven did air Adele’s One Night Only special, which initially aired on US network CBS and featured an interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Warburton also opened up about Doran’s response to the scandal, saying he is “a pro.”

“[Doran’s] got two choices, collapse in a heap or get on with his job,” Warburton said.

“He’s said his piece and I’m sure everyone would probably wish that they could have done things differently but that’s life and we’ve got to get on with it.”

Adele’s new album 30 has enjoyed the highest selling first week in Australia since 2017, helping her top both the ARIA Albums Chart and ARIA Singles Chart.