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Iggy Azalea reportedly told ‘no rubbing’ during American Music Awards performance, but ‘spanking’ is OK

THEIR song is called Booty but Iggy Azalea and J.Lo were underwhelming at the AMAs after being warned by TV bosses to keep their booties to themselves.

THEIR song is called Booty, but execs at the American Music Awards warned Iggy Azalea and J.Lo to keep their booties to themselves.

Fortunately for the TV bosses, who were reportedly “real nervous” that the pair’s risque act would cause them another year’s worth of headaches, their live performance was free from controversy. In fact, it was borderline boring.

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Viewers took to social media after the ladies closed the 2014 AMAs with Booty, calling their performance “garbage” and labelling it “the worst of the night”.

Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Azalea failed to wow at the AMAs in L.A.
Jennifer Lopez and Iggy Azalea failed to wow at the AMAs in L.A.

It’s unsurprising the duo’s debut number was relatively restrained; TMZ reports that AMA executives issued strict guidelines about what they can and cannot do ahead of the live show.

Industry sources told the gossip website the pair were not allowed to show their “cracks” while on stage and were warned “no rubbing” after Miley Cyrus’ infamous twerking and grinding on Robin Thicke at the MTV VMAs caused massive controversy last year.

J.Lo reunited with Pitbull on stage after the performance.
J.Lo reunited with Pitbull on stage after the performance.
Some commented that J.Lo stole the spotlight.
Some commented that J.Lo stole the spotlight.

There was one thing TV bosses didn’t put the kibosh on — “spanking”, which features prominently in their music video and was strangely given the thumbs up by execs. But there was only the briefest of spanks from J.Lo and the tiniest hint of a twerk as the song came to an end.

The red and white camouflage was as interesting as the performance got.
The red and white camouflage was as interesting as the performance got.

A 3-4 second delay had been implemented just in case the pair decided to defy those upstairs and get a little too raunchy for conservative American viewers. But even with the precaution in place, history has proved this hasn’t always been a successful safety net.

Prior to the much-anticipated performance, Iggy responded to the reports on Twitter reassuring viewers there were “no plans to expose anyones nipples or vaginas”.

Despite her somewhat lacklustre performances, it was a big night for 24-year-old Azalea, who was up for six nominations — more than any other artist at the AMAs. The Fancy singer took home two gongs, Favourite Rap/Hip Hop Artist and Favourite Rap/Hip Hop Album.

Check out Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Lopez’s 2014 AMAs performance in full below.

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/awards/iggy-azalea-reportedly-told-no-rubbing-during-american-music-awards-performance-but-spanking-is-ok/news-story/6774ea59f7e56158a00e72f18a48c835