Adele about Beyoncé in TV Radio Room After Winning Album, Record and Song of the Year.
All talk no action, though. Bring Beyoncé up on stage. Give her the award. AND THEN THE MIC.
I don’t think you’ve thought that scenario thru. If Adele had asked Beyonce to join her on stage, she would actually have forced Beyonce into a terrible situation where Beyonce would be subjected to ridicule and public humiliation.
Beyonce can’t exactly give her prepared acceptance speech to a room full of racist white people who didn’t vote for her. What’s she gonna say? “Thanks for nothing”? She’d have to make up something to say on the fly. She can’t thank Adele for the award without the media calling her a smug/conceited sore loser. She can’t criticize the voters or the organization without being lambasted by the media as both a sore loser and as a “ hysterical angry black woman.”
Anything Beyonce said to that room would have been turned against her a thousand fold – Beyonce and Adele both knew that. Every black person in the room knew that too. In court, defending yourself is not always your best option. You often need a character witness who’ll speak on your behalf. This may not have been a literal court, but the same principle applies to the court of public opinion.
And btw Adele did give Beyonce the award. She said “I cannot accept this award” and then she broke off the base of the grammy (the part that had Adele’s name on it) and gave the trophy part to Beyoncé. Maybe they cut that portion out of the particular broadcast you watched, but it did happen and there are articles about it.
I’m usually the first in line to criticize bad ally-ship. In this particular situation, I honestly think Adele chose the best course of action for Beyonce. She’s a good example to celebs who want to be allies – this is how it’s done.
Now THAT’S a good post.
