The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards are over – did you catch the show? I missed most of the red carpet, but then I usually do for music award shows.
I did manage to catch Lady Gaga on the red carpet making more than a statement with her dates than her clothing. If you’ve seen a Gaga outfit before, you know that is quite a statement. She arrived with four gay and lesbian soldiers who had been discharged from the military under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. This requires the soldiers to keep their homosexuality a secret because if it is known by the military, they will be discharged. It is a very controversial policy that has been under attack recently and Gaga decided to ask the soldiers as dates to bring to light the unfairness of the policy. Gaga went on to win eight VMAs last night.
Even if you didn’t watch last year’s VMAs, you probably know that Kanye West grabbed the microphone from winner Taylor Swift to say that he thought Beyonce deserved the award. It was all over the news and Kanye became one of the most hated men in music.
But, as celebrityism goes, someone hated today can become loved tomorrow and that is what happened with this situation. Taylor sang a song directed at Kanye and no, it was not to bash him. In fact, it included the line “Every one of us has messed up too…I hope you remember today is never too late to be brand new.” Kanye was the last artist to perform on the show and although there were a few boos at the beginning, there were chants of “Kanye, Kanye, Kanye” by the time he walked off stage.
And then there was my favorite moment of the night. When I was growing up, we had no Madonna, Lady Gaga, or Katie Perry – they were all rolled into one entertainer simply known as Cher. I had gone to bed when my husband came back and told me I had to see this. I walked into the living room to see Cher circa 1989, with her black skimpy outfit she wore in her video. Not only did she have the outfit on, but she looked just like she did when she wore it 21 years ago. And that moment alone made the VMAs worth the viewing.