On the night of February 21, 2012, Adele was immortalized on the stage of the O2 Arena in London. And not because she became one of the biggest winners at the Brit Awards. What the international press highlighted in headlines the day after the ceremony was her finger comb.
The disgusting gesture, the center of an immense whirlwind of gossip, would react to her anger. It is not the first time that the British diva is in the news because of her anger and she expresses it with her middle finger raised or in any other way. It’s fair to admit that much of that anger is entirely understandable.
A finger comb “to those in the suit”
Adele was ecstatic. 21, her second album, broke sales records and came from Los Angeles after winning six Grammys. She and she again she was at the O2 Arena in London, about to become the winner of the Brits with Ed Sheeran.
That night of February 21, 2012, the singer would go on stage twice. George Michael was in charge of giving her her most coveted award, Best Album. With the entire venue on its feet, applauding, an emotional Adele began her thank-you speech.
“Thank you, thank you very much,” said the artist. And then she said how proud she felt “to be British” and to be able to fly the flag of the United Kingdom. James Cordon approached her to interrupt her: “I’m so sorry” , he said. Adele said goodbye, – “Bye, I’ll see you next time” – at the same time that she bowed her head and did a comb. Of course, without losing her composure. Blur was already on stage and began their performance. Supposedly there was a rush.
Later, Adele would explain that the raised middle finger on her right hand was a protest gesture “to those in the suit and not to the fans.” And she added, “I’m sorry if I have offended anyone, but the suits have offended me.” Likewise, Corden communicated: “I felt bad having to cut Adele. I don’t understand why I had to do it, it wasn’t a very nice way to end. Blur had 11 minutes to play and she barely had a chance to say thank you.”
The comb had a response from the Brits and ITV. Through a statement they revealed their apologies: “The Brits are a live event. Unfortunately, the program was running out of time and we had to keep going. We would like to apologize to Adele for the interruption.”
A pool that looked like “an old pond”
The pool design so upset Adele that she canceled her Las Vegas residency ‘Weekends With Adele’. At least that’s what The Sun newspaper published. The shows were going to be held at Caesars Palace, between the months of January and April 2022. But they were suspended just 24 hours in advance: “The idea was to fill the pool with water during the concert and it would be elevated with a mechanism, a kind of crane, creating the illusion of floating on the water. When she saw the final design, she refused to act. Adele described the pool as an ‘old pond’ and she bluntly refused to be in the middle of it.”
Adele announced that she was postponing all Las Vegas concerts “because my show isn’t ready and half my team has COVID.” In the end, she took them back in November.
“What do you think of my album?”
Adele angrily walked out of an interview for Australian television Channel 7 because she was offended and upset. The journalist Matt Doran had flown to London to speak with the diva for half an hour. But during the conversation, in November 2021, Doran did not ask any questions about her new album. Just then, the singer had just released her fourth album, titled 30, her first in six years. And she asked him, “What do you think of my album?” He replied, “I haven’t heard it.” Adele left the interview truly irritated.
Doran, according to The Guardian, admitted that he had “committed a terrible mistake” and acknowledged that he had “insulted Adele.” Although other sources guarantee that the interview had already ended when the British diva put Matt to the test.
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Andrea Esteban
