MTV VMAs 2017: Winners, red carpet and performances from awards, hosted by Katy Perry
SINGER Pink made a powerful statement about body image at MTV Video Music Awards as Katy Perry was slammed for her hosting skills.
PINK delivered a showstopping speech about body image and self-acceptance at MTV Video Music Awards.
The What About Us singer made the stirring statement while accepting her Video Vanguard Award from Ellen DeGeneres.
Speaking on stage, Pink said her daughter Willow, 6, had recently told her, “Mama … I am the ugliest girl I know”.
“And I said, ‘huh?’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, I look like a boy with long hair,’” Pink told the crowd at The Forum in Los Angeles.
“And my brain went to, ‘Oh, my god. You are 6. Why? Where is this coming from? Who said this? Can I kick a 6-year-old’s ass?’ But I didn’t say anything,” Pink said.
“Then I said, ‘I really want to know why you feel this way about yourself.’ She said, ‘I look like a boy,’” Pink said.
“I said, ‘What do you think I look like?’
“She said, ‘Well, you are beautiful.’ I was like, ‘Well, thanks. But when people make fun of me, that’s what they use.”
“They say that I look like a boy, or I am too masculine, too many opinions, my body is too strong.
“And I said to her, ‘do you see me growing my hair?’ She said, ‘no, Mama.’ I said, ‘do you see me changing my body?’ ‘No, Mama.’
“Do you see me changing the way I present myself to the world?’ ‘No, Mama.’
“So, baby girl, we don’t change, we take the gravel and the shell and we make a pearl.
“We help other people to change so that they can see more kinds of beauty.”
‘MY PEE BAG IS KIND OF FULL’
Katy Perry raised eyebrows for her bizarre costumes and hosting style.
In one of the strangest VMAs openings ever, the Swish Swish singer was suspended from the roof, dressed in a silver space suit.
“My pee bag is kind of full,” the host said, in one of her attempts at humour.
Her intergalactic-themed opening monologue failed to impress, with celebs including DeGeneres and Bleachers singer Jack Antonoff seen looking visibly confused and bored.
“I gotta get out of this space suit,” Perry said as she stripped off to a nude body shirt.
“2016 was terrible, but it feels like things are getting a little bit better in fashion.”
Antonoff — who produced Taylor Swift’s new song Look What You Made Me Do — preferred to eat a banana.
NIGHT MADE @jackantonoff #VMAs pic.twitter.com/L0JU9C3vl0
— Amanda Terranova (@AmandaTerranova) 28 August 2017
STYLE STARS
Outfits at the VMAs seemed tamer than usual with many celebrities opting for elegant dresses on arrival ... and saving daring ensembles for the stage.
In one of the more standout looks, rapper Nicki Minaj — who closed the show with Perry dressed as a basketball referee — wore an eye-popping pink latex crop top and pants, teamed with diamond cuffs and a $1 million choker.
The pink trend continued for Malibu singer Miley Cyrus who stunned in hot fuchsia during her performance, and stripped off her skirt to reveal barely-there hotpants.
POLITICAL STATEMENTS
The VMAs also had a political flavour this year.
Presenting the award for Best Pop Video to Fifth Harmony, Paris Jackson took aim at race-fuelled violence in the United States.
“We must show these Nazi supremacist jerks in Charlottesville and all over the country that as a nation, with liberty as our slogan, we have zero tolerance for their violence, hatred and discrimination,” Jackson — the daughter of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson — said.
“We must resist.”
Another powerful, politically-charged moment was when Susan Bro, the mother of Charlottesville race riot victim Heather Heyer, appeared on stage in tribute to her daughter.
“I’m here to speak for my child,” Heyer said.
“She’s not allowed to speak now except through me, so I’m going to speak for social justice; I’m going to speak for being outraged and paying attention, I’m going to speak for positive action.”
SILENT SHOW
Another notable performance was by Lorde, who did not sing a word on stage.
Instead, the Green Light singer danced to her own song, Sia-style, prompting confusion from her fans.
Lorde then took to Twitter to explain why ... she has the flu “so bad” that she needed a pre-show IV drip.
you can't tell in these pictures but i have the flu so bad i needed an IV #showgoeson #cutelilproppedupcorpse 🦄💀
— Lorde (@lorde) 27 August 2017
Humble rapper Kenrick Lamar opened the star-studded ceremony with a medley of songs from his album DAMN including Humble and Loyalty, featuring a fire performer who was completely doused in flames.
Lamar went on to win Video of the Year for Humble.
MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARD WINNERS
Video of the Year: Kendrick Lamar “Humble”
Artist of the Year: Ed Sheeran
Best New Artist: Khalid
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award: Pink
Best Pop Video: Fifth Harmony (featuring Gucci Mane) “Down”
Best Choreography: Kanye West “Fade”
Song of the Summer: Lil Uzi Vert “XO Tour Llif3”
Best Dance Video: Zedd and Alessia Cara “Stay”
Best Collaboration: Zayn and Taylor Swift “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”
Best Hip Hop Video: Kendrick Lamar “Humble”
Best Direction: Kendrick Lamar “Humble”
Best Art Direction: Kendrick Lamar “Humble”
Best Visual Effects: Kendrick Lamar”Humble”
Best Fight Against the System (awarded to all nominees): Logic “Black SpiderMan”, The Hamilton Mixtape “Immigrants”, Big Sean “Light”, Alessia Cara “Scars to Your Beautiful”, Taboo “Stand Up / Stand N Rock #NoDAPL” and John Legend “Surefire”
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