Corden 'upset' at Adele speech halt
Brit Awards host James Corden revealed he held out as long as possible before cutting short big winner Adele’s crowning moment – and said he had actually been told to move in after she had said “thank you”.
The presenter, who prompted jeers when he wound up the singer’s speech after a matter of moments, said it would have been better to delay the ITV news.
The controversy overshadowed the event last night as she was robbed of her chance to shine at the climax of the show after taking the most prestigious prize.
Corden called the incident “upsetting and disappointing” as he spoke about it today.
The actor was forced to move as time ran out despite the entire show building to the presentation of the best album prize, with Adele’s '21' taking the honours.
Corden told Radio 5 Live: “The truth is that just after Adele said ’thank you’ people were saying ’you have to go in now’. I said ’I can’t’.
“I said ’how can you cut her off?’ The whole room was on its feet and they said ’you’ve got to do it now’. And then essentially it was just such a surreal moment and everything you can hear in your ear is about five people having an argument and there’s one overriding voice saying ’James, you have to’.”
Adele picked up the best British female prize in addition to best album and her wins came little over a week after she collected six prizes at the US Grammys.
The singer was so frustrated by being cut off in her prime that she aimed a one finger gesture to “the suits” who ordered her off. She had to make way for a performance by Blur, whose frontman Damon Albarn had earlier delivered a rambling acceptance speech for his band’s outstanding contribution prize.
Corden said: “I was so upset last night and I can understand why Adele was. I didn’t even watch Blur.
“I immediately went and spoke to her, and it’s one of those things and it is upsetting and it’s disappointing.
Speaking to Radio 5 Live presenter Richard Bacon, he said: “I just want to say I’m so sorry and explained to her that if I had my way, we’d push the news for a minute and half.
“If it was up to me or the executive producer of the show, then that’s what would have happened but unfortunately we can’t really make that call.”
Brits organisers and ITV both apologised for the speech being curtailed due to the pressures of live TV.
Corden added: “It would have been such a wonderful TV moment for Adele to have her moment there in the sun and everything she wanted to say and then Blur came on. And it’s a shame, that we’re talking about it.”
Former Brits host Chris Evans said the incident should not have happened, but he had sympathy for Corden. Speaking on his Radio 2 breakfast show today, he told listeners: “It was awful. It wasn’t James’s fault by the way, but it was definitely down to someone.
“It should not have happened for a second, however. Poor James Corden, who did brilliantly all night.”
