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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Kyle O'Sullivan

Furious Adele had to clarify obscene gesture to crowd after brutal Brit Awards cut off

After weeks filled with controversy, Adele will be hoping everything runs smoothly during tonight's Brit Awards.

There are major changes this year with new host Mo Gilligan taking over from Jack Whitehall and gendered awards being replaced for more inclusivity, but one thing very much remains the same.

Adele is synonymous with victory at the Brits, having graduated from the BRIT School in 2006 before going on to pick up a staggering nine gongs during her illustrious pop career.

The Tottenham-born singer looks to be a lock-in for best artist and albums this year due to her commercial success, then success in the song of the year and best pop artists categories would take her level with Robbie Williams as the most-awarded artist in Brits history.

If that wasn't enough, Adele will also be performing during tonight's star-studded ceremony after speculation she wasn't going to make it following her Las Vegas residency cancellation.

If she does win any awards, the songstress will be hoping there is not repeat of the scandal that occurred at the end of the ceremony a decade ago.

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Back in 2012, Adele was thanking her fans after picking up the highly sought after Best Album award at the very end of the evening.

An emotional Adele said she was "so proud" to be British and "flying our flag", when she was brutally stopped after just 20 seconds of speaking.

Butting in, a terrified looking James told her: "I'm so so sorry, I can't believe I'm about to..."

Realising that she was being hurried along by Brit bosses who needed to get Blur on stage for the final performance, Adele finished his sentence by saying: "You're going to cut me off."

Putting her hand on his shoulder, she continued: "Can I just say then goodbye and I'll see you next time round."

She then flashed her middle finger at the cameras before storming off as Corden said quickly: "Ladies and gentleman, it's Blur."

Ironically, time appeared to have run short due to Blur's Damon Albarn spending several minutes thanking people who had helped the rock act as the band collected their outstanding contribution prize.

Adele was forced off to allow the quartet to perform a set of big hits that closed out that 2012 ceremony.

Adele made her feelings very clear after being cut off in 2012 (PA)

Speaking immediately afterwards at the winner's conference backstage, Adele clarified that the gesture she made was not directed at the crowd.

Apologising for losing her cool, Adele said: "Can I just say sorry for swearing?

"I flung the middle finger at the suits, not the fans, I want people to know that.

"Sorry if I offended anyone, but the people in suits offended me. I wasn't swearing at the fans, but I didn't get to complete my thank you speech!"

Immediately afterwards, Corden admitted he "felt bad" about the upsetting incident, adding: "I don't understand what happened but I'm upset about it. Blur get to play for 11 minutes and she gets to say thank you once."

An ITV spokesman said: "The Brits is a live event. Unfortunately the programme was over running and we had to move on.

"We would like to apologise to Adele for the interruption."

The following day, James described the situation as "surreal" and "disappointing" during a chat on Radio 5 Live and revealed he was "so upset" he didn't even watch Blur's performance.

Adele joined James Corden for Carpool Karaoke in 2016 so they've since made up (CBS)

Explaining what was said in his ear, James said: "The truth is, just after Adele said ‘Thank you’, people were saying ‘You have to go in now, you have to cut her off now’.

"I said ‘I can’t’, but they said ‘You have to’ and I thought ‘How can we cut her off when the whole room was on its feet?’ and they said ‘You gotta do it now’.

"It was such a surreal moment – everything you can hear in your ear is about five people having an argument and there’s one overriding voice saying ‘You have to’.

"For me personally, it would have been such a wonderful TV moment for Adele to have her real moment in the sun and say everything she wanted to say and then to have Blur come on. It’s a shame we’re even talking about it."

There were concerns that Adele would not attend tonight's Brit Awards after she pulled out of performing her Las Vegas shows.

The songstress was due to begin a residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on January 21 that would have run until April 16 – but she cancelled all the shows due to 'delivery delays and Covid' the day before her first date.

She reportedly pulled the plug on a residency show after deciding she didn’t like the look of the set – despite fans spending thousands on flights, hotels and tickets to see her on stage in Sin City.

Adele, who until now has been a darling of the music world, was branded a ‘Diva’ by fans and music critics alike.

Having left Brit Award bosses in limbo for the past few weeks, Adele confirmed she would fly to the UK to perform at the ceremony at the 11th hour.

The singer said she was "looking forward" to Tuesday's ceremony, saying: "I’m really happy to say that I am performing at the Brits next week."

There have been conflicting reports over the status of her relationship with sports agent Rich Paul, her first high-profile romance since her split from husband Simon Konecki, with some suggesting this was the real reason behind her Las Vegas cancellation.

And in a bid to tackle rumours in the US that her relationship with sports agent Rich Paul had hit a "rocky patch", she added pointedly: "Oh, and Rich sends his love."

Following her Vegas no-show it had been claimed Adele was going to stay in the US and appear at the Brits via video link.

But she will definitely be at London's O2 to face off with Ed Sheeran in four categories, including Artist of the Year and Album of the Year, which also feature rappers Dave and Little Simz.

According to the source, Adele is hoping she can turn the tide of public opinion back on her side after she caused upset by cancelling her Vegas shows.

They said: "There’s a lot of pressure on her for Tuesday’s show so she’s not going to be boozing ahead of time. She knows Vegas was a big letdown for fans, so she wants to make it up to them."

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