As viewers prepare to celebrate the Video Music Awards for 2021, it seems only fitting to remember some of the most wildly awkward and cringe moments that have happened on the all-too prominent stage – and its red carpet.
From Courtney Love throwing a makeup compact at Madonna to Drake professing his love to Rihanna, there have been some incredible scenes.
But before 2021 inevitably adds more drama to the list, Daily Star has looked back at some of our favourite moments across all of the shows – and there are quite a few!
We’ve whittled it down to our top six cringiest moments – and it’s likely you’ll be able to guess a few that are coming up…
Kanye West and Taylor Swift
Let’s kick it off with a strong one; Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift’s speech after she won Best Music Video over Beyoncé.
These scenes were so dramatic that even those who were not watching the show were fully aware of what took place in the 2009 show.
When Taylor went to accept her award, Kanye headed onto the stage and said: “Imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time,” before handing the mic back to a bewildered Taylor.
Since the famous incident, Taylor’s relationship with Kanye has had ups and downs, with some of the most fiery rows between them still taking place in recent years.
Michael Jackson’s Fake Award
Millions of viewers tune in to the VMAs, which can be a good thing for the most part, but not when you’re caught out in an awkward blunder.
At the 19th MTV video music awards, Britney Spears announced that Michael Jackson had won the Artist of the Millennium award – which didn’t exist.
Instead, Britney was supposed to present him with a birthday cake, but she told him that she thought he was the artist of the millennium.
In a speech, he said: “When I was a little boy growing up in Indiana if someone told me I’d be getting the Artist of the Millennium award, I’d never have believed it.”
Of course, he didn’t, as it doesn’t exist, and a spokesperson for MTV was forced to apologise for the mix up.
Black Eyed Peas LED Crotches
Just last year fans were left absolutely gobsmacked as Black Eyed Peas returned to the stage to perform Vida Loca off their latest album Translation.
The performance was nothing close to a usual VMA show, with the group opting for some odd visuals as part of their dance routine.
Part of their bottoms lit up, with fans assuming they had light up zippers on their shorts, making their crotch area glow in the dark arena.
However, despite the unusual performance, with a few classics thrown into the ring, fans were still impressed with the performance.
Courtney Love threw her compact at Madonna
In 1995 Madonna was being interviewed at the VMAs as she attended the show, before Courtney Love appeared and was called up.
As the interviewer called her to join, Madonna appeared visibly unimpressed, but even more so when an excited Courtney started throwing makeup at her.
Courtney pulled multiple items out of her bag and threw them upwards, before Madonna said: “Courtney Love is in dire need of attention right now. She’s throwing her compact at me.”
She then joined Madonna for the interview, which was a visibly awkward conversation throughout, before Madonna ultimately got up to leave.
Drake professed his love for Rihanna
In 2016, Drake and Rihanna going official was all any fans could hope for, they were the couple that so many rooted for, but if one thing set them off base, it was the VMAs.
Rihanna was given the Video Vanguard Award by Drake and performed a medley of her top hits, but as Drake called her up on stage, his praise was certainly unusual for her.
He said that Rihanna was one of his “best friends” and had been in love with her since he was 22 years old, but she confessed that the speech left her feeling uncomfortable.
She previously told Vogue: “Waiting through that speech was probably the most uncomfortable part. I don’t like too many compliments. I don’t like to be put on blast.
“We don’t have a friendship now, but we’re not enemies either. It is what it is.”
‘Miley, What’s Good?’
Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus well and truly ignited their feud in 2015, though there had been a number of dramas erupting between them before that.
After their ongoing feuds, it seemed Miley picked a bad time to speak about Nicki prior to the Video Music Awards.
Nicki landed the award for best hip-hop vide, but as soon as she won it she turned to Miley and said: “Back to this b***h that had a lot to say about me the other day in the press; Miley, what’s good?”
However, it seems the pair might have put their drama to bed and it looks like they are on good terms in the years that followed.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk