Everyone remembers the end of Mean Girls, when Lindsay Lohan snaps her Homecoming Queen tiara into little bits and tosses the pieces to those she felt more deserving than her – all accompanied by an empowering speech about recognising one another’s best qualities.

Well, it seems as if those scenes moved Adele just as much as they did us.

After being presented with the Grammy for Album of the Year, the Hello singer defiantly snapped it in half on stage, so she could give the crowning part to Beyoncé.

Adele, who also won the Song of the Year award, explained how she felt Lemonade was a more deserving winner than her own 25.

“I can't possibly accept this award," she said during her acceptance speech. “The Lemonade album was just so monumental, Beyoncé. It was so monumental and well thought-out and beautiful and soul-bearing...

“The way you make me and my friends feel… the way you make my black friends feel is so empowering. I love you. I always have and always will.”

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Adele finished by telling Beyoncé that she “appreciates” every single thing she does for women and artists everywhere.

“All of us artists here adore you,” she said. “You are our light.”

Adele – who won all five awards she was nominated for – later added backstage: “I thought it was her year. What the fuck does she have to do to win Album of the Year?”

Read more: Adele opens up about the loneliness of fame

Beyoncé was not on the official list of Grammy performers, but she surprised the audience inside Los Angeles’ Staples Centre with her first public appearance since revealing that she was pregnant with twins earlier this month.

Her mother, Tina Knowles, introduced Queen Bey to the stage.

“I’m blessed to have daughters, wonderful daughters, all of whom make me proud with everything they do,” she told the crowds. “I am proud of their accomplishments, their self-confidence, and their desire to make a difference. What makes me most proud and why I’m here tonight to introduce Beyoncé is the devotion and love I see in her for her daughter and the way she has always expressed love to all of those around her.

“I believe she earned nine Grammy nominations for her Lemonade album this year because of all that and more. It’s evident in her powerful words and music. Ladies and gentlemen, with a mother’s pride, my daughter Beyoncé.”

Beyoncé, dressed in gold, went on to perform Love Drought, before transitioning into the song Sand Castles.

She was awarded the Best Urban Contemporary Album for Lemonade.

You can find a full list of Grammy Award winners here.

Images: Rex Pictures