The 2020 VMAs were unlike any other.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, new guidelines were in place to keep everyone safe. This included pre-recorded performances, socially distant hosts, and fake audiences.
As you can imagine, this made things, well, hella awkward. Think you’re ready to see this? Then, hop in, because we’re about to take you all the way straight to Cringe City.
1. The fake audience screams:
This year’s VMAs was filmed with “limited to no audience.”
But that didn’t stop the show from trying to make it seem like there was a live audience in front of host, Keke Palmer.
At one point, she even “fake” interacted with them.
Let me tell you, IT WAS CRINGE.
It was like when TV characters pretend to talk to someone on the phone, but it’s very obvious that no one is there.
Lastly, there were several awkward moments where she didn’t know where to look at the fake audience.
Were they chillin’ on the ceiling? ‘Cause it looked like it.
The show should have embraced the fact that no one was there instead of pretending.
2. Bella Hadid and The Weeknd reunited:
The pair dated on-and-off for the past couple of years, with their final breakup taking place in 2019.
The Daily Mail reported that they crossed paths after The Weeknd finished his performance rehearsal, and that they “played it cool.”
3. Getty images from the VMAs were TV and laptop screens:
If you thought a picture of celebs in their own home would be free-reign to download, think again.
This is why some Twitter users were baffled over this. Quite a few people were put off by it.
4. The socially distant hosts:
We’re all for practicing social distancing (and have been since March), but this just looked so weird.
With this much distance between them, it looked like the kind of pictures Avril Lavigne takes with her fans.
5. The pre-show interviews were also done this way:
It’s a good thing no one had hearing problems, or else all you’d hear is “WHAAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY??”
But, like a car crash, you just couldn’t look away. At least it was entertaining to watch.
6. Miley Cyrus was accused of lip-syncing:
People were less mad about her lip-syncing and more upset with how fake it looked.
You could tell right away. If you are going to lip-sync, at least make it less obvious!
7. When Keke Palmer hit on herself:
Just when we were willing to let those fake screams go (kinda), she had to go and do this!
The host went ahead and dressed up as a man and tried to hit on girl Keke.
8. Some of the winners were leaked:
Since the show was pre-recorded, an acceptance speech from Lady Gaga was leaked on Twiter before the show even started.
Oops! It was almost as awkward as when La la Land thought they won an Oscar…
9. JoJo and Francia Raisa danced awkwardly to BTS:
We live for seeing celebs dance along to other celebs music (especially when it’s Taylor Swift) but this was way too awkward.
Without other people around them, there was too much attention on their lame dance moves.
They tried to keep up with the band, but it proved to be too much:
That was evident in their awkward dancing and in this tweet by Jojo:
“Yo can u imagine being in a group/ having to get along/ be in sync with SEVEN PEOPLE ????????????”
10. A #VMASAREOVERPARTY hashtag was created during the show:
It was not an opportune time for the hashtag to trend.
Twitter users were upset that singers like Justin Bieber, Harry Styles, and Dua Lipa weren’t nominated.
These snubs meant that neither Dua Lipa or Harry Styles performed.
They’ve had some of the hottest hits of the summer, like “Watermelon Sugar” and “Don’t Start Now,” so this was a major loss to fans — and to the show.
11. Lady Gaga was compared to Sandy from *SpongeBob Squarepants*:
It was a big night for Lady Gaga.
She was awarded with the first-ever Tricon Award and even made history as the most awarded celeb in MTV history with 67 awards.
But, of course, this was overshadowed with her fishbowl look. And, let’s be fair, if anyone can get away with it, it is Rihanna.
“I was wearing face shields before it was a thing,” the singer tweeted.
We love a queen representing the realness of another queen: Sandy Cheeks.
12. The VMAs were not hosted live:
It honestly felt like we were watching Inception . In other words, fans didn’t know what was real live and what was prerecorded.
While MTV stated that the show was live, that wasn’t the truth.
It was reported by *PageSix* that some celebs didn’t fly to NYC for the live show.
In addition to this, the performances, award presentations, and red carpet interviews were filmed in advance .
While there is nothing wrong with that, the issue lies with MTV lying about it.
13. Doja Cat’s long, winded speech:
The singer took home the award for Best New Artist.
While some described her speech as “powerful and emotional,” others were looking at the clock the entire time. At one point, she even confessed to rambling.
