FUSE TV - Adele Flips the Angry Bird at the 2012 Brit Awards

Apparently being the biggest star in Britain right now still doesn't guarantee your right to free speech—at least at the BRIT Awards.

Only 20 seconds into her acceptance speech for the most-coveted award of the night—British Album of the Year—the show's producers chose to cut Adele off mid-sentence to make way for Blur's performance. 

So she took a trick from M.I.A.'s Super Bowl playbook and flipped the middle finger to everyone watching the live TV broadcast. 

You can, of course, watch Adele let her bird fly by catching Fuse's broadcast of the BRIT Awards tonight at 9 pm EST, or our replay Friday at 10 pm.

"Thank you very, very much. Nothing makes me prouder than coming home with six Grammy and then coming to the Brits and winning Album of the Year," Adele told the audience before her mic was hijacked. "I'm so, so proud to be British and to be flying our flag and to be in the room with all of you." 

It was at that point that host James Corden apologetically made his move to give her the hook.

"Are you about to cut me off?" asked Adele, flabbergasted. "Can I just say then, goodbye and I'll see you next time round, yeah?" 

It was at that point she let the finger do the rest of the talking for her.

Immediately following the ceremony, an incensed Adele explained she only meant the one-finger salute to those who tried to silence her.

"I was about to thank the British public for their support. They cut me off, sorry if I offended anyone but the suits offended me," Adele explained. "That finger was to the suits at the Brit Awards, not to my fans."

It's important to note that the Brits were running late partly because of Blur frontman Damon Albarn's strangely lengthy acceptance speech for Outstanding Contribution to Music. The fact that they let Albarn ramble for several minutes, and then cut Adele off after 20 seconds in order for Blur to play, makes it seem that someone behind the scenes was prioritizing the Britpop band over England's Newest Hitmaker.