6 MTV VMAs Feuds That We Will Never, Ever Forget

You know why I love the MTV Video Music Awards? Because it's a little less classy, a little more shady, and a lot more dramatic than some of the other, bigger award shows. And that's what makes it so much fun to watch. When I sat down to watch 2009's broadcast, did I know I was going to see one of the most iconic award show moments of all time? No, but then Kanye West decided he had something to say, and just like that, one of our generation's biggest feuds in music was born.

Talk about a beautiful moment.

Taylor Swift found herself in the middle of that awkward moment with Kanye in 2009, but would you believe she's been involved in other VMAs feuds as well? Color me shocked. The pop star found herself directly in the middle of another dramatic moment at another VMAs and somewhat involved in yet a THIRD VMAs feud. Makes for great tabloid fodder — or her next hit single.

We're ready to see if yet another new feud pops up at this year's VMAs, but in the meantime, let's relive these six moments from VMAs past that will make you cringe, laugh, and grab the popcorn.

01
Madonna vs. Courtney Love — 1995
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Madonna vs. Courtney Love — 1995

Back in 1995, while Madonna was doing a postshow interview, singer Courtney Love decided to start throwing things at her. Interviewer Kurt Loder actually asked Courtney to join in on the interview, and to say it was awkward would be an understatement. The two have had a stilted relationship since then, and it's hard to say if they're getting along these days, but I'm going to assume they avoid each other.

02
Eminem vs. Moby vs. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog — 2002
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Eminem vs. Moby vs. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog — 2002

The feud between Eminem and Moby started before the 2002 VMAs, but Triumph the Insult Comic Dog brought it to a head during the show. Moby called out Eminem for his homophobic language at the 2001 Grammys, and Em fired back with harsh lyrics about Moby in his song "Without Me."

Eminem performed his song at the 2002 VMAs, and that's where Triumph, the rude puppet from Conan O'Brien's shows Late Night With Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien, jumped in. He joked about Eminem's rude Moby lyrics to Moby himself, which obviously irritated Eminem.

The whole thing was weird; Triumph is a puppet, after all, and rude as hell. Eminem did end up threatening to fight Moby, though, during his acceptance speech, to which Moby replied later that he wasn't concerned.

It seems like this is all in the past now, as Moby told BBC Radio 5 Live in 2011 that they're no longer worried about each other. "I think at this point I'm so far below Eminem's radar," he said. "Eminem is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet."

03
Russell Brand vs. the Jonas Brothers — 2008
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Russell Brand vs. the Jonas Brothers — 2008

The host of the 2008 show, comedian Russell Brand ruffled a few feathers when he took some jabs at the Jonas Brothers, who were in their heyday at the time. Russell poked fun at the trio's decision to wear purity rings, saying, "Jonas Brothers is a pop group made up of young men who deliberately don't have sex with their fans."

While the jokes were awkward in the moment, Russell later apologized, and the Jonas Brothers let it roll off their backs. Shortly after the show, Nick Jonas told the BBC, "For us it's cool to see that he recognizes we are gentleman." Good on ya, boys.

04
Kanye West vs. Taylor Swift — 2009
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Kanye West vs. Taylor Swift — 2009

It was the line heard 'round the world at the 2009 VMAs. "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time." Alright, Kanye, we get it, you're a Beyoncé fan.

After Taylor won best female video for "You Belong With Me," Kanye stormed the stage, grabbed the mic from her, and let everyone know that he felt Beyoncé should have won. The whole ordeal was incredibly awkward and is still an ongoing joke. Taylor went on to host Saturday Night Live later that year and even jokingly referenced the situation in her opening monologue song.

Taylor and Kanye have been back and forth and up and down since that historic VMAs, with Kanye apologizing and Taylor writing "Innocent" about his actions. But then Kanye came back with "Runaway," which is thought to be yet another apology. In 2015, Taylor and Kanye seemed to put it all behind them when she presented him with the Video Vanguard Award.

But LOL, you thought that was the end, didn't you? The feud was back in full force when Kanye dropped "Famous," with a line about Taylor in it that she claims she was absolutely not OK with. She low-key shaded Kanye at the 2016 Grammys because of the lyrics, and Kanye's wife, Kim Kardashian, just wasn't having it. She released damning audio evidence of Taylor knowing about Kanye's song from the start, leaving this feud very much still alive, despite the fact that Taylor would like to be "excluded from this narrative." Oy.

05
Taylor Swift vs. Harry Styles — 2013
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Taylor Swift vs. Harry Styles — 2013

This one is less of a feud and more of a story of possibly bitter exes. At the 2013 VMAs, Taylor (yet again!) ran into one of her exes, Harry Styles of One Direction. The pair dated for an extremely short time in 2012 and into 2013, but Harry apparently provided Taylor with plenty of material for her album Red.

In 2013, Taylor won best female video for "I Knew You Were Trouble," seemingly about Harry, and when she took the stage to accept her award, she gave a shady shout-out to Harry himself. "I also want to thank the person who inspired this song because he knows exactly who he is."

But wait, it gets better! When Harry was on stage with One Direction during the show, the camera panned to Taylor, who was chatting with pal Selena Gomez beside her, while Harry was talking, and it kiiiinda looked like Taylor said, "Shut the f*ck up," at Harry. Yikes.

The two mostly ignore each other these days, though Harry may or may not have a couple songs about Taylor under his belt now. (He totally does.)

06
Nicki Minaj vs. Miley Cyrus — 2015
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Nicki Minaj vs. Miley Cyrus — 2015

The storm between Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus started before the 2015 VMAs even hit the stage. When Nicki's "Anaconda" video didn't grab a nomination for video of the year, she tweeted her outrage with the industry and how she thought she'd have been nominated if she looked a different way.

Taylor Swift also got involved in this uproar before the VMAs, but you know what, this one isn't about her, so we're moving on.

Miley, who hosted 2015's VMAs, had an interview with The New York Times days before the show, and when she was asked about Nicki's tweets, she had a few unsavory things to say. "What I read sounded very Nicki Minaj, which, if you know Nicki Minaj is not too kind. It's not very polite," she said.

When the big night rolled around and Nicki snagged the award for best hip-hop video for "Anaconda," she called out Miley on stage and yelled, "And now, back to this b*tch that had a lot to say about me the other day in the press. Miley, what's good?"

We don't know for sure, but we think the two might have put this all behind them in 2017 at the Billboard Music Awards when Nicki was clearly seen clapping for Miley after her performance.