What really happened after Keith Urban’s interview with Adelaide Mix 102.3 radio hosts was cut short following X-rated question about wife Nicole Kidman

The country singer appeared to shut down an interview on Adelaide breakfast radio after an X-rated question about his wife Nicole Kidman – or did he?

Did Keith Urban hang up on breakfast radio duo Hayley Pearson and Max Burford, did his management pull the pin on his behalf, or was it simply a technical malfunction?

That’s the question everyone is asking after the stunning conclusion to the Mix 102.3 interview on Tuesday, which saw the country singer’s prerecorded chat cut short following an X-rated question about his wife Nicole Kidman.

Urban was on the radio show promoting his upcoming Adelaide concert in August, when Burford quizzed him about Kidman as part of their “Wall of Truth” segment.

The segment calls for the hosts to ask their celebrity guests a “deeply personal question”.

“If you’re happy to play this game, the first thing I thought of was your beautiful wife Nicole Kidman being on so many great movies and TV shows all the time,” Burford said.

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman attend the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards in Texas. Jason Kempin/Getty Images/AFP

Mix 102.3 breakfast co-hosts Hayley Pearson and Max Burford. Picture: Supplied

“I watched a movie of her with Zac Efron recently, A Family Affair. What does Keith Urban think when he sees his beautiful wife with beautiful younger men like Zac Efron having these beautiful love scenes on TV and film?”

There was an uncomfortable silence and then the call suddenly ended, completely blindsiding the shocked radio hosts.

“Did he just hang up on us? Oh my God … he doesn’t like the personal stuff. I knew that would happen,” said Pearson.

“We upset him. I knew that was going to happen. He doesn’t like talking about his wife. He’s private. He hates us. I hate myself.”

The story has since gone viral, and has been picked up by publications such as Variety, USA Today, HELLO!, E! Online, Fox News and the New York Post.

People Magazine said they have a source who denied that Urban ended the call on the Adelaide radio hosts.

“Keith did not hang up, period,” the source says. “He doesn’t host his Zoom interviews. This is a complete nothingburger.”

The source added that Urban, who’s playing at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on August 28, is a “very easygoing” interview and did not personally take issue with the question.

So instead, did Urban’s team make the decision to end the call on his behalf?

Celebrity interviews – particularly those on-air – aren’t usually cut short for no reason or without warning.

Or perhaps a technical mishap disconnected the call earlier than expected?

Mix’s breakfast producer immediately tried to contact Urban’s management, with no success.

It took an hour until Urban’s publicist responded, claiming the interview ran out of time.

On Wednesday morning, Pearson and Burford addressed the situation on-air and were told by their boss, Stephen Werner, that the’s program producers missed cues to wrap up the chat in time.

“The producers were getting texts... I don’t think anyone was checking the studio phones,” he said. “He went to another interview.”

But it’s no secret that Urban doesn’t like talking about his famous wife.

Last September, the singer was invited on the Jam Nation with Jonesy & Amanda podcast to chat about his new album High and upcoming world tour, when the chat focused on Kidman being at the Venice Film Festival.

The interview increasingly became more awkward, and Urban eventually shut down the topic with three simple words: “Anyway, moving on.”

Urban has been contacted for comment.