'The safe word is 'don't stop!'': Cheryl and Liam Payne make awkward sex joke during Brit Awards

Tom Powell22 February 2018
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Cheryl and Liam Payne shocked viewers with a racy joke about their love life as they put on a united front at the Brit Awards.

The couple arrived beaming at the awards ceremony at London’s O2 Arena earlier in the evening, fending off rumours of a possible split.

During the live show, presenter Jack Whitehall sat down with them to speak about the One Direction singer's performance of his Fifty Shades Freed song For You with Rita Ora.

Whitehall said: "You're performing later, you're doing a performance from the Fifty Shades movie, it sounds pretty saucy - is there a safe word?"

Payne pointed at Cheryl and joked: "She knows that."

Cheryl then leaned into the microphone and said that the safe word is "don't stop".

Cheryl and Payne laughed as a stunned Whitehall said: "Wow, OK... It's time for a break!"

Presenter Jack Whitehall left awkwardly after the admission
Getty Images

On the red carpet before the show, the couple held hands and gazed into each other's eyes as they posed for pictures.

In recent days, they have been at the centre of rumours that they are on the verge of splitting up.

On Tuesday, 34-year-old Cheryl had briefly responded to the speculation, declaring that "none of that matters" as she opened a Prince's Trust centre in Newcastle.

On the red carpet, Cheryl sported a one-sleeved black mini dress with a ruffled detail across the chest and down the arm.

She held up a white rose in support of the anti-sexual harassment campaign Time's Up that has made its way to the Brits after being a fixture at film award ceremonies the Baftas and the Golden Globes.

Payne, who missed out on the two awards he was nominated for - British single and British artist video of the year - opted for a pale grey suit jacket and black trousers.

Cheryl and Payne welcomed their son Bear in March last year after being an item since 2016.

They first met on The X Factor in 2008 when Cheryl was a judge and Payne auditioned as a solo contestant, two years before becoming part of the hit boyband One Direction on the programme.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in