Chappell Roan
Fans tuning into the carpet did not even have to wait for the show to start for the drama to begin. Chappell Roan verbally defended herself against a demanding photographer on the carpet, amidst her ongoing battle with her boundaries and being respected as a celebrity. In the past several weeks, the singer has taken to social media to express her discomfort with invasive fan interactions and undesired attention in her personal life. While the posts have been taken down, Roan noted in an interview at the VMAs that outside of her interaction on the carpet, fan interaction had been greatly improved since her post.
Taylor Swift
As the discussion around privacy for celebrities continued, fans questioned the ethics behind MTV’s live Taylor Swift Cam streaming on their YouTube Channel. While many die-hard Swifties loved the extra angle and access, this seeming invasion of privacy was also at the forefront of people’s minds. After accepting her first award, she disappeared for over an hour and some questioned if she had left the event early – an uncharacteristic move for Swift, who is known for supporting all of the artists at award shows regardless of her history with them. Much to fans’ relief, she returned at the end of the night in her second outfit to accept her final award. While for some fans, her disappearance is further proof of her distaste for the cameras being on her, others believe her disappearance was due to moving to a different seat, taking a break from the chaotic and loud environment, or just changing outfits to something more comfortable as she had been seen appearing to struggle with the tightness of her show stopping carpet dress’ corset.
Sabrina Carpenter
Many fans were disappointed to realize that this new period of the Short n’ Sweet album means a farewell to creative “Nonsense” outros. Every time Carpenter performed “Nonsense” from her album Emails I Can’t Send, she would add a different creative outro, often working in the location or event she was at. Instead, fans were shocked to watch her perform “Taste” from her new album Short n’ Sweet in the presence of Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. This latest single is rumored to be about the complex and vague romantic relationship between Mendez, Cabello, and Carpenter and features lines such as “You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissing you” which is a shocking line to sing in front of the people it is rumored to be about. On a higher note about celebrity privacy and drama, the camera crew did not cut to Mendez or Cabello during her performance.
VMA’s Most Iconic Performance
Lady Gaga’s 2009 performance of “Paparazzi” which highlighted the complex relationship between fans, artists, and the media, was nominated for VMAs Most Iconic Performance but did not win. Instead, Katy Perry won for her 2013 performance of “Roar.” While the VMAs performance of “Roar” was not bad, it seemed like a mundane choice when compared to the other nominees who explored broader more complex themes. This choice left fans questioning if the VMAs were trying to make Perry relevant again, after she has settled into being an artist known for her nostalgic hits of the early 2010s.
