BBC’s Newsnight dubbed ‘iconic’ for savage dig at Liz Truss with Rihanna track

Hours after Liz Truss announced to the nation that she was resigning as Prime Minister, Newsnight aired on BBC Two, hosted by Victoria Derbyshire.

In a moment that’s been described as ‘unexpected’, ‘iconic’ and ‘brutal’, the programme began with a video montage looking back on Ms Truss’ historically short tenure in office.

To rub even more salt into the wound, the compilation of clips was set to the tune Take a Bow by Rihanna, with lyrics including ‘you look so dumb right now’ and ‘don’t tell me you’re sorry ‘cause you’re not’.

The video begins in black and white, showing the moment the politician walked out on stage to a crowd of applauding attendees.

‘How about a round of applause. Standing ovation,’ Rihanna sings in the background song, as Ms Truss grins gleefully in front of the crowd.

It then cuts to the shot outside No 10 Downing Street, as Ms Truss walks out of the front door to the lectern that’s been placed on the street to deliver her speech.

Who knew Rihanna would provide the soundrack for an end to a historic day? (Picture: Rex/YouTube/The Island Def Jam Music Group)

‘You look so dumb right now. Standing outside my house. Trying to apologise,’ the melody continues, before pausing as Ms Truss begins her resignation speech by stating: ‘I came into office at a time of great economic and international instability.’

The song then resumes, as Rihanna states: ‘Please, just cut it out.’

A short clip of Ms Truss’ interview with the BBC’s political editor Chris Mason is shown, as the resigning PM says: ‘I do want to accept responsibility and say sorry for the mistakes that have been made.’

As a slow-mo shot of a pile of newspapers detailing the chaos of the British government is seen on screen, Rihanna belts out: ‘Don’t tell me you’re sorry ‘cause you’re not.’

Then a clip of Ms Truss in the House of Commons declaring, ‘I am a fighter, not a quitter’ appears, which of course happened a day before her resignation.

The song continues with the lyrics: ‘But you put on quite a show, really had me going. And now it’s time to go, curtain’s finally closing.’

Then at the very end, Rihanna sings: ‘But it’s over now. Go on and take a bow,’ as Ms Truss walks back into No 10 Downing Street after announcing her resignation.

After Liz Truss said Blank Space was her favourite Taylor Swift song… Channel 4 used it for their own video compilation about the resigning PM (Picture: PA/Getty)

People on Twitter have called the choice of song ‘genius’, with one stating that whoever was behind the decision should ‘take a bow’.

The BBC wasn’t the only broadcaster to ridicule Ms Truss’ resignation with their music selection, as Channel 4 also did so by poking fun at the politician’s admiration for Taylor Swift.

Channel 4 News created a video montage of Ms Truss set to Taylor Swift’s Blank Space, with a reporter saying on the programme: “Liz Truss said that her favourite song was Blank Space by Taylor Swift.

‘We’ll leave you with that and some images of her. Good night.’

BBC Newsnight next airs tonight at 10.30pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

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The politician’s ‘favourite’ Taylor Swift song was used in a Channel 4 montage.