‘Irrelevant’: Rebecca Maddern hits back over Djokovic saga

In footage leaked by an employee at caption company AI Media, the two were recorded ripping into the unvaccinated world number one, who was recently booted from the country over a visa debacle and barred from playing in the Australian Open.

Speaking with Stellar magazine for the first time since the clip – in which she and Amor both called Djokovic an “a***hole” – made global headlines, Maddern brushed off the language used, saying the colleagues were “talking like [they] would at the pub”.

Maddern – who was applauded by many on social media for the unfiltered moment – added that it’s an “antiquated notion” that journalists shouldn’t have an opinion on current affairs.

“[Fellow newsreader] Mike [Amor] and I are friends,” former Channel 9 star Maddern said.

“We’ve been friends long before I returned to Seven. So we were basically just talking like we would be at the pub.

“I’m 100 per cent sure that the exact same conversation was actually happening in a pub. And lounge rooms. And workplaces.

“Whether you agree with what I was saying or not is actually irrelevant. Everybody was talking about this and so were we. My language was questionable, but hey, we’re Aussies,” she said.

Maddern went on to say she had interviewed Djokovic in the past, calling him “a very pleasant guy”, and musing that his messy visa saga could have been avoided had there been a “no vax/no play” policy put in place ahead of time.

“With the luxury of hindsight, it would have been really nice and straightforward for everybody if there was a no vax/no play policy at the Australian Open,” Maddern said.

“But there were loopholes in the policy and I don’t think you get to 20 grand slams without being a fighter. So he fought to play here. And so he probably should have,” she said.

While Maddern was mainly praised for mirroring what much of Australia was thinking throughout Djokovic’s deportation drama, some had labelled both newsreaders “unprofessional” for taking a stance on the matter at all.

“I’m passionate about the news; it’s an antiquated notion that journalists or news presenters can’t or don’t have opinions,” Maddern told Stellar of the judgement.

“We are human beings and part of the same community as everybody else. Just because I have an opinion on a topic doesn’t mean I can’t present or write about a topic without bias. It’s called training.

“When I’m on air, I’m a professional and I don’t use that language. I’ll be presenting the news straighty-180 from now on,” she said.

The full interview with Rebecca Maddern is available in Stellar magazine, free today in the Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Herald Sun

Originally published as Rebecca Maddern defends leaked Channel 7 footage slamming Novak Djokovic