Adele explains viral meme of her sitting courtside at NBA game

Singer was caught looking solemn during the NBA All-Star game in 2022

Adele has candidly explained the story behind the viral meme of her sitting courtside.

On 20 February 2022, the “Easy On Me” singer was caught looking less than interested at the NBA All-Star game. During the celebrity cam portion of the sporting event, the video focused on Adele, highlighting her solemn facial expression. It wasn’t long before her NBA snapshot surfaced online, garnering thousands of responses.

Now, the 35-year-old has decided to give her audience an insight as to why she had appeared so serious. Speaking to the crowd at her Las Vegas residency show, Weekends with Adele, on 17 February, she noted how she was trying to find someone else.

“Do you remember that viral meme of me looking like I don’t give a flying f***?” Adele asked her guests. “It sounds crazy, but I really don’t like being famous, right? So, obviously, I know I’m sitting courtside at a basketball game, you’re asking for it.”

The “Hello” artist noted that she had been trying to find Michael Jordan when the camera people approached her. Supposedly, they asked whether she wanted to be filmed and she declined.

She proclaimed: “The people with the camera came and asked me twice. They were like, ‘Do you mind if we film you? Can we put you on the screen?’”

Adele at a game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in 2023 (Getty Images)

Though she told them “No,” they continued to film her. According to Adele, she wasn’t keen on being on-screen then since her Las Vegas shows had just been cancelled.

“I was very annoyed because I had asked not to be filmed ... I was like, ‘these motherf****** have come back and are filming me against my will,” she remarked.

What’s more, Adele confessed that she “didn’t realize they were airing it on TV.” Hoping to make them go away, she tried to avoid eye contact and looked everywhere else.

When the video of her surfaced, fans took to social media to poke fun at the moment. “I guess for Adele, Cleveland does not rock,” one amused individual quipped, pinpointing the Cavaliers logo behind her.

“Boy does Adele look happy or what?” another joked.

A third wrote: “Not interested in being on camera, haha.”

“Homegirl looks p***ed,” an eagle-eyed user added.

A few harsh critics made comments about her lips, insinuating that she’d gotten fillers. However, during the 17 February show, she denied the rumours.

“The reason my lips looked like I had filler — because I’ve got naturally big lips, I don’t need filler — was because I was sulking.”