MTV Awards Show Kicks Off with Plentiful Trump Bashing by Hollywood Stars
This week’s award for the number of attacks on President Donald Trump that can be squeezed into one TV program goes to the MTV awards.
Host Kevin Hart didn’t make it through the opening segment with Tiffany Haddish before making a direct attack on the president.
“Beefs pop off, bad language, people run to the bathroom and send out crazy tweets,” Hart said. “It’s basically like a typical day in the White House.”
Even less subtly, he added, “In your face, Trump! Suck it!”
Hart also referenced Trump’s battle to make NFL players stand for the national anthem, saying that anyone watching could do as they pleased.
“There’s no old white man that can stop you,” he said.
Rapper Robert Bryson Hall II — known by his stage name, Logic — sought to keep the Trump-bashing going by wearing a T-shirt that read, “F— the Wall” during his performance, Grabien reported.
Viewers, however, were left unimpressed by the show, which tucked in a brief tribute by Madonna to singer Aretha Franklin.
During her monologue, Madonna spent most of the time talking about herself, according to Fox News, which did not sit well with Twitter users who were watching.
Sooo playing Aretha’s songs during the ending credits and having Madonna dressed as a witch doctor while talking about herself was the tribute ? #VMAs pic.twitter.com/kYtKOl52Y8
— Ari (@KetoG7) August 21, 2018
MTV: We'd like you to give a tribute to Aretha Franklin
Madonna: Great, so this is how I got my career started…
MTV: No, no, a tribute to Aretha
Madonna: So I said "bitch, I'm Madonna"
MTV: This isn't about you madge
Madonna: Look at my African jewelry #VMAs
— laura greene (@lgreene91) August 21, 2018
When Madonna is supposed to be honoring Aretha Franklin but goes on about her self for 10 mins straight #VMAs pic.twitter.com/Br6I8dknxb
— Rachel✨ (@rachel_mag) August 21, 2018
It also was pilloried in a review for Entertainment Weekly.
“In a demonstrably failed effort to honor Aretha Franklin, she told a very long story. Her rambling suggested a sudden narrative tangent in an art movie you refuse to understand … She said ‘quelle horreur’ and ‘LOL’ in consecutive sentences, pretentiously French and then pretentiously millennial. She was bleeped twice. Somewhere past Neptune she told the story of her very first performance at the very first VMAs, 34 years ago,” the review noted.
Madonna presents an Aretha Franklin tribute by Madonna featuring Madonna with Madonna and Madonna as “Madonna”
— Marc (@MarcSnetiker) August 21, 2018
Rolling Stone’s review of the evening concluded that the event missed the mark.
“The whole night had a sour given-up-on vibe from start to finish, right up to ‘Respect’ cynically slapped over the closing credits. In such a vibrant year for pop music, it felt strange to see MTV blow off their annual grudging recognition that music exists in the present; it felt even stranger to see them bumble the past. As Aretha would have spelled it: R-E-S-P-E-C-Zzzzzz,” read the review.
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