VMAs' Wildest Moments Through the Years

The MTV Video Music Awards have been making headlines since 1984, and there is not a hint that the ceremony will slow down anytime soon. Britney Spears, Kanye West, Miley Cyrus and more of the biggest names in the music industry are responsible for the craziest VMAs moments ever. From the Hannah Montana alum’s twerking with Robin Thicke to the Princess of Pop’s kiss with Madonna, celebrities have long used the VMAs stage to incite controversy and keep fans talking for years to come. Perhaps the most noteworthy VMAs moment of all time came when West ambushed Taylor Swift on stage in 2009 to share his opinion that Beyoncé should have won Best Female Video instead of the “You Belong With Me” singer. “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy for you, I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all times!” the rapper declared, referring to her “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” hit. “One of the best videos of all time!” Swift revealed in August 2019 that she wrote a diary entry about the moment. “Ahh… the things that can change in a week,” she noted in a page published in the deluxe version of her Lover album. “Let’s just say, if you had told me that one of the biggest stars in music was going to jump on stage and announce that he thought I shouldn’t have won on live television, I would’ve said, ‘That stuff doesn’t really happen in real life.’ Well … apparently … it does.” Scroll down to revisit the wildest moments in VMAs history:

In 2024, Taylor Swift broke Beyoncé’s record for most VMA wins in history. The “Fortnight” singer won seven of the 12 categories in which she was nominated, bringing her career total to 30. “To the fans, I’m always trying to figure out a way to say thank you to you for making my life what it is,” she said while accepting her fifth Video of the Year trophy, a record in itself.

Katy Perry passionately made out with her then-fiancée, Orlando Bloom, on stage during the 2024 VMAs after her Video Vanguard performance, which he introduced. “You fell in love with her as Katy Perry. I fell in love with her as Katheryn Hudson,” the actor told the audience.

Before cohosting with LL Cool J and Nicki Minaj in 2022, Jack Harlow surprised the crowd by bringing out Fergie during his opening performance. The former Black Eyed Peas member walked out to sing her 2007 hit “Glamorous,” which Harlow sampled on his own single “First Class.”

Machine Gun Kelly and Conor McGregor were spotted in an apparent fight on the red carpet ahead of the 2021 VMAs in Brooklyn, New York.

Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello sent fans and stars in the audience into a frenzy when they almost kissed several times during their “Señorita” duet in 2019. The couple walked off stage holding hands and later accepted the Best Collaboration award. 

When Missy Elliott performed a greatest hits medley in 2019, she brought Alyson Stoner — who starred in her “Work It” music video nearly two decades earlier — on the stage to dance it out. 

Video Vanguard recipient Rihanna performed four medleys throughout the 2016 VMAs ceremony, including one with her biggest dance hits and another featuring her most popular ballads. The singer’s on-off beau Drake surprised her on stage when he presented her with the award.

When Beyoncé took home eight trophies in 2016, she brought her career total to 26 VMA wins, topping Madonna’s previous record of 20.

Pink shared a touching story about her then-6-year-old daughter, Willow, while accepting the Video Vanguard Award in 2017. After telling the audience that Willow thought she was “the ugliest girl in the world,” Pink said, “I went home and I made a Powerpoint presentation for her. And in that presentation were androgynous rock stars and artists that live their truth, are probably made fun of every day of their life, and carry on, wave their flag and inspire the rest of us. … Baby girl, we don’t change. We take the gravel and the shell and we make a pearl. And we help other people to change so they can see more kinds of beauty.”

Jennifer Lopez ran through a whopping 14 hits during her performance at the 2018 show before accepting the Video Vanguard Award. She became the first Latin artist to receive the honor.

Despite Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift’s 2009 VMAs acceptance speech, the duo seemed to put their differences aside at the 2015 VMAs when the “Bad Blood” songstress presented West with the prestigious Video Vanguard Award. “I first met Kanye West six years ago — at this show, actually!” she joked. “Since then, it seemed like everybody in the world knew about our infamous encounter at the VMAs.” Though they hugged it out at the end of the night, they have since butted heads again.

After Miley Cyrus called out Nicki Minaj in a New York Times interview for engaging in a Twitter war with Taylor Swift, the rapper fired back at the former Disney Channel star following her acceptance of the 2015 VMA for Best Hip Hop Video. “And now back to this bitch that had a lot to say about me in the press. Miley, what’s good?” she snarled at Cyrus, who hosted the show that year.

Beyoncé got emotional when her husband, Jay-Z, and the couple’s daughter Blue Ivy handed her the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award after her stellar 2014 performance. The sweet Carter family moment came amid reports that the pair’s marriage was on the rocks, which began after leaked footage showed Solange Knowles kicking her brother-in-law in an elevator during a Met Gala afterparty.

The 2014 VMAs proved to be a memorable one when Katy Perry and Riff Raff paid homage to Britney Spears and then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake’s denim outfits that they wore to the 2001 American Music Awards. “Just when I thought the denim dress had retired....you bring it back!” Spears tweeted to the “Roar” singer. “You looked amazing tonight bb.”

Miley Cyrus didn’t give a speech after winning Video of the Year for her song “Wrecking Ball” in 2014. Instead, the singer invited her homeless friend Jesse to speak about how others can make a difference in the U.S. for the homeless community. Cyrus teared up during the unexpected surprise, while Jimmy Fallon held the microphone for Jesse.

Nicki Minaj suffered a wardrobe malfunction in 2014 while performing “Bang Bang” with Ariana Grande and Jessie J. The rapper quickly changed from a green sequined two-piece outfit to a black dress backstage but didn’t have time to zip up. The result? The “Anaconda” singer held her sexy attire together before scurrying off the stage.

Not as it seems! Taylor Swift made waves during the 2013 show when she was caught dropping the F-bomb while her ex Harry Styles was on stage. Luckily, her pal Ed Sheeran swooped in later to clarify the situation. So, what really happened? The “Style” singer said “shut the f—k up” when BFF Selena Gomez said that Miley Cyrus would probably win the Best Pop Video category. Gomez later took home the Moonman statue.

’NSync reunited for a stellar performance in 2013 to support Justin Timberlake’s Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award honor. Initially, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, JC Chasez and Chris Kirkpatrick were annoyed that they only briefly sang during Timberlake’s 15-minute solo set. "The guys wished it could have been more songs," an insider told Us at the time. "He told them to trust him, he was going to make it great."

OMG. Miley Cyrus made headlines in 2013 (seriously, those pasties!) when she gyrated with a foam finger, stuck out her tongue and got frisky with Robin Thicke during a medley of “We Can’t Stop” and “Blurred Lines.” An insider told Us that the R&B crooner was upset that Cyrus went too far with her performance.

Host Kevin Hart kicked up his heels with PSY in 2012. The stars tried their best to keep in sync while dancing to the Korean rapper’s viral smash “Gangnam Style.”

Host Rebel Wilson bared it all — well, not really — in a white shirt featuring a bikini drawing in 2012. Meanwhile, The Wanted’s Max George, Jay McGuiness, Nathan Sykes, Siva Kaneswaran and Tom Parker tried to keep their cool while presenting an award.

Katy Perry and One Direction’s Niall Horan went in for a smooch in 2012. "It was amazing and very purple — she had purple lipstick on," Horan later told British Cosmopolitan. "I don't think there will ever be anything cooler than kissing her — until I marry her, maybe."

At the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga went incognito as Jo Calderone, her male alter-ego. Opening the show with a four-minute monologue, Calderone told viewers, "Lady Gaga, she left me. She said it always starts out good. . . She said I'm just like the last one." The pop star stayed in character all night.

Though Britney Spears and Lady Gaga shared a chaste smooch when the "I Wanna Go" singer accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, Spears awkwardly (but cheerfully) avoided Gaga's advances for a more intense makeout session in 2011. "I've already done that," she laughed.

When a Lanvin-clad Beyoncé arrived on the red carpet in L.A. in August 2011, Jay-Z's wife whispered to photographers, "I'm pregnant." The couple welcomed daughter Blue Ivy in January 2012.

In one of her most shocking ensembles ever, Lady Gaga wore a dress made entirely of raw meat to accept her Video of the Year trophy in 2010.

The Black Eyed Peas frontman shocked viewers of the 2010 VMAs by performing in blackface during his pre-show performance with Nicki Minaj.

A lil awkward! Lil Mama crashed Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ performance of their hit “Empire State of Mind” in 2009. Rather than engage with the “Lip Gloss” rapper, Jay-Z and Keys ignored her when she jumped on the stage and tried to take part in their set. 

One year after Kanye West stole her big VMA moment in 2009, Taylor Swift debuted a new song, "Innocent," inspired by her infamous run-in with the rapper.

Host Chelsea Handler made fun of the Jersey Shore cast in September 2010 when she pretended to get pregnant after sitting in the same hot tub as the hard-partying reality stars.

Though Lady Gaga had never attended the VMAs until 2009, she made quite an impression! The New York native stole the show with her six costume changes and bloody performance of "Paparazzi."

As Taylor Swift accepted her award for Best Female Video in 2009, Kanye West stormed the stage and stole her big moment. "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, and I'mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time," he shouted. "One of the best videos of all time!"

In 2009, Pink performed her smash single "Sober" while swinging from a trapeze.

Rapper T-Pain arrived at Paramount Pictures Studios in L.A. riding an ornately decorated elephant in September 2008.

In what was supposed to be her epic return to the stage, Britney Spears shocked viewers with her lackluster performance of "Gimme More" at the 2007 VMAs. As she breezed through the choreography and lip-synced the words, fellow performers like Kanye West were outraged by her opening number.

After serving less than a year in jail, Lil' Kim poked fun at her troubles by arriving on stage in an orange jumpsuit. She quickly removed it and revealed a glamourous black and gold ensemble. "The girl is back!" the rapper told audience members at New York City's Radio City Music Hall in 2006.

In 2007 in Las Vegas, Tommy Lee and Kid Rock got into a physical altercation over mutual ex Pamela Anderson. The incident occurred during the commercial break, and both men were restrained.

It was the lip-lock seen 'round the world: Britney Spears and Madonna — and, uh, Christina Aguilera — caught up in a steamy kiss during their opening number at the 2003 VMAs.

The 2002 VMAs fell close to Michael Jackson’s 44th birthday. To honor the King of Pop, Britney Spears presented him with some sweet wishes and a multi-tiered cake. Despite the simple celebration, the late superstar believed he was receiving the nonexistent “Artist of the Millennium” award after he overheard Spears refer to him as such backstage. 

Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose unveiled the band's new lineup — after a seven-year hiatus — when the rockers closed the 2002 show.

After four years out of the spotlight, Michael Jackson returned to the stage in a surprise performance with 'NSync at the 2001 VMAs. As Justin Timberlake beatboxed beside him, the King of Pop showed off some of his signature dance moves.

Clad in a revealing outfit, a fearless Britney Spears debuted "I'm a Slave 4 U" at the 2001 VMAs. Her dance partner? An albino Burmese python!

Will the real Slim Shady please stand up? Eminem performed with a legion of look-alikes at Radio City Music Hall in 2000.

Angered that his band lost the Best Rock Video award to Limp Bizkit, Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford climbed up a piece of set scaffolding and refused to come down at 2000's show. He was brought down by security during the commercial break and later spent the night in jail.

Clearly intrigued by Lil' Kim's scandalous ensemble, Diana Ross couldn't help but cop a feel at the 1999 VMAs.

Tommy Lee arrived on the red carpet wearing a trench coat — and nothing else! — with ex-wife Pamela Anderson at the 1999 VMAs.

After Christina Aguilera invited Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst to perform with her at Radio City Music Hall in 1999, the rocker later claimed he did it solely to hook up with the pop princess. Aguilera denied ever getting physical with Durst.

When Marilyn Manson performed "The Dope Show" at the 1998 VMAs, he stunned viewers with his skintight blue latex suit (complete with fake boobs and an asexual codpiece).

In September 1998, while she was dating Marilyn Manson, actress Rose McGowan titillated audiences with her barely there beaded ensemble.

Awkward alert! Pop divas Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston showed up to present at the 1998 ceremony wearing the same dress. "That's a one of a kind, huh? Fortunately, I come prepared for situations like this," Carey said as she ripped off her skirt.

While accepting her award in 1997, Fiona Apple called the world "bulls--t" and said it's "stupid that I'm in this world, but you're all very cool to me."

Michael Jackson performed a 15-minute set of his greatest hits — including "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Black or White" — at the 1995 show in Los Angeles.

Long before Britney Spears and Madonna's infamous VMAs smooch, newlyweds Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley shocked the audience when they shared a passionte kiss at the 1994 ceremony.

After a profane comedy bit in 1989, Andrew Dice Clay was banned from attending future MTV awards shows. Twenty-two years later, he was allowed to return to the annual event in L.A.

Madonna's legendary 1984 performance of "Like a Virgin" caused an international stir. Clad in a lacy white wedding dress and a "Boy Toy" belt, the singer writhed around on stage and cemented her status as a pop music icon.

As he descended into the crowd wearing a giant codpiece and cutouts in the rear of his pants, Howard Stern joked that he was planning to make a full-length movie based on his fictional Fartman character. "Great ass, man," joked co-presenter Luke Perry.

During an interview with host Kurt Loder, Madonna was startled when an intoxicated Courtney Love threw her shoes at the Material Girl. "Courtney Love is in dire need of attention right now," Madonna said before Loder invited the Hole rocker to join in on the interview.