In a word, the MTV Video Music Awards would best be described as bedlam.
If the Grammys are the music industry’s equivalent of the Oscars then the VMAs are like the rowdy school prom where artists are invited to relish in their wild and wacky ways.
Since its inception way back in 1984, the VMAs have staged some of pop culture’s most iconic and bizarre moments.
In 2015 Miley Cyrus was the hostess with the mostess. She opted to wear everything but clothes during her hosting duties.
But she made her huge splash in her twerk-tastic duet with Robin Thicke in 2013, which seared tongues, BeatleJuice-inspired suits and foam fingers into our minds forever, to Michael Jackson and his then-wife Lisa Marie Prestly’s intensely awkward smooch Lisa Marie Presley in 1994.
It’s as if MTV provide a “must shock and outrage” disclaimer on the star’s invites each year – and we absolutely love it!
Click through the gallery to check out the show’s most controversial moments from over the years.
The hostess with the mostess. Miley Cyrus wore everything but clothes during her hosting duties at last year’s VMAs!
“And yes, as you probably could have guessed by this moment, I have decided in 2020 to run for president,” um…what?
Future first lady Kim Kardashian was pregnant with her son Saint. We can already hear North’s little bro’s bedtime story, “Daddy Yeezy announced his Presidential aspirations while you were in my tummy Sainty!” Check out the infamous speech in the next slide!
Kanye runs for President and goes all YEEZUS
The rise and fall of Britney Spears: Over the years, the VMAs have documented the pop princess’ peaks and pits. In 2001 (L) Brit slayed with her steamy rendition of smash hit Slave 4 U, complete with an albino snake thrown over her shoulders. But in 2007 (R), her touted “come back*, after her highly-publicised meltdown, didn’t quite go to plan. The star was criticized for miming and fresh fears were raised over her well-being.
Rapper Lil’ Kim made sure all eyes were on her at the 1999 VMAs in this daring purple jumpsuit, which scooped right under her breast to reveal her ample bosom. The Brooklyn-born beauty hid her modesty with a sparkly nipple pasty and teamed it with a matching lilac wig.
As far as pregnancy announcements go, Beyonce delivered with gusto and class at the 2011 bash. Doing away with any OTT and contrived social media posts, the singer instead let her bump do all the talking as she unbuttoned her blazer and cradled her belly at the end of her performance of Love on Top.
“I wore it to cause an uproar. But I’ll confess that I did change into another dress after walking up the red carpet,” actress Rose McGowan reflected of her booty-baring frock that she wore to the 1998 ceremony with her then-boyfriend, musician Marilyn Manson.
In 2014, Amber Rose tried to mimic Rose’s famous frock with little success.
They were supposed to be newlyweds, relishing in their newfound marital bliss. But when Michael Jackson and his then-wife Lisa Marie Presley took to the stage in 1994, eyebrows were raised at the awkward and stilted nature of their smooch. “I’m very happy to be here. And just think, nobody thought this would last,” the King of Pop bizarrely proclaimed, before sweeping in Elvis Presley’s only child and planting a wet one on her. They divorced just two years later.
Speaking of forced pashes, we bring you that lip lock from none other than Britney Spears and Madonna in 2003. The superstars stunned the crowd with their antics in 2003 during their raunchy medley of some of Madge’s greatest hits, including Like a Virgin. While Madonna also snogged Christina Aguilera seconds after Brit, history seems to have forgotten that moment.
“He wanted me as naked as possible, because that’s how his video was. It was very much a collaboration. My part We Can’t Stop was all me. But when it went into Blurred Lines, that was his performance,” this year’s host Miley Cyrus recently told the New York Times of her headline-grabbing 2013 performance with Robin Thicke.
It’s been five years since Lady Gaga strapped on her meat dress, which was made up of raw beef so what was quirky Gaga trying to tell us? “It has many interpretations, but for me… If we don’t stand up for what we believe in and if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’re going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones. And I am not a piece of meat,” she told Ellen DeGeneres.
Kanye West has come a long way since that fateful night in 2009 when he hijacked Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech, claiming Beyonce was a more worthy winner for the Best Video. The rapper, who has just announced he hopes to run for the 2020 presidency, has gone on to confess he was in a dark place at that time and apologised.
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