Adele flips finger after award acceptance speech cut short

LONDON — Adele had the tabloid press in a furore and TV executives running for cover over a middle finger gesture after her moment in the sun at British pop’s biggest awards was cut short for programming reasons. The 23- year- old was midway through an acceptance speech at the packed O2 Arena after winning the big prize, best British album for her chart conquering 21. But because the show was running late, and being broadcast live on ITV, presenter James Corden stepped in to cut Adele short, prompting a “one finger salute.” The Sun newspaper, Britain’s bestselling daily, had a picture of the gesture on its front page above the headline “Someone dislikes you”, a reference to her hit Someone Like You. The rival Mirror featured a similar image accompanied by the words “Adele: Go to hell!” Speaking after the two- hour show, Adele said she was upset by the interruption. “I flipped the finger but it wasn’t to my fans,” she said. “I’m sorry if I offended anyone. It was the suits that offended me.”