2010 MTV Video Music Awards

Performances

The house artist was Deadmau5. The following performed along with him:

• Travie McCoy – "Billionaire"
• Jason Derulo – "Ridin' Solo"
• Robyn – "Dancing on My Own"

Outside in the parking lot there were the following performances:

• N.E.R.D. and Ciara – "Hot-n-Fun"

Source: Performers

Winners and nominees

Winners are in bold text.

Artists with multiple wins and nominations

Appearances

Pre-show

• Sway Calloway – presented Best Dance Music Video and Best Collaboration

Main show

• Lindsay Lohan, Rick Ross, Flo Rida and Lil Jon – appeared in the opening sketch
• Ellen DeGeneres – presented Best Female Video
• The cast of Jackass 3D – presented Best Rock Video
• Kim Kardashian – introduced Justin Bieber
• Kesha and Trey Songz – introduced Usher
• Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj – presented Best Male Video
• Jared Leto and Ashley Greene – introduced Florence and the Machine
• Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley and Jane Lynch – presented Best Pop Video
• Rosario Dawson and Chris Pine – introduced Taylor Swift
• Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake – introduced Drake, Mary J. Blige and Swizz Beatz
• Joe Manganiello and Evan Rachel Wood – introduced the winners of the professional categories
• The cast of Jersey Shore – appeared in an on-stage skit with host
• Sofía Vergara – presented Best Hip-Hop Video
• Selena Gomez and Ne-Yo – introduced B.o.B, Bruno Mars and Paramore
• Romeo and Victoria Justice – presented Best New Artist
• Emma Stone and Penn Badgley – introduced Linkin Park
• Cher – presented Video of the Year
• Aziz Ansari – introduced Kanye West

Source: presenters

Controversy

will.i.am's blackface criticism

Some viewers took offense to the producer/ rapper will.i.am's outfit, especially the dark makeup, which, to some fans, was reminiscent of the antiquated, racially charged practice of blackface. After fans blasted the rapper online, he took to Twitter to defend the look as artistic expression and not an embrace of the controversial maquillage typically used to lampoon African-Americans. Will.i.am responded to the backlash on his Twitter stating "1st. just because I where all black including head mask as expression and emphasize my outfit, it shouldn't be looked at as racial," Will tweeted. "Let go of the past. there are far more important things 2 bark about. (Jobs, health, education) not a black man wearing all black everything." Will.i.am insisted the face paint was a harmless costume choice and that fans concerned with the image Will's look projected should focus on larger issues.

Lady Gaga's meat dress

Main article: Lady Gaga's meat dress

While accepting her award for Video of the Year, presented by legendary singer and actress Cher, Lady Gaga wore a dress made entirely from cuts of raw meat. The dress bore a resemblance to an artwork, Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic, created by Canadian artist Jana Sterbak in 1987. Along with the dress, her hat, shoes, and purse were all made from meat as well. PETA president Ingrid Newkirk issued a statement concerning the controversial outfit. After questioning whether the meat was real or not, Newkirk was quick to disparage Gaga saying, "Meat is the decomposing flesh of a tormented animal who didn't want to die, and after a few hours under the TV lights, it would smell like the rotting flesh it is and likely be crawling in maggots--not too attractive, really." Franc Fernandez, the designer of the meat dress, said later in an interview with MTV, "...it's not a sticky meat. It's not a messy dress at all, surprisingly. [...] It's actually very clean meat, very sturdy and strong and doesn't run at all. [...] The meat dries out, rather than rotting. It becomes jerky." Gaga later explained to Ellen DeGeneres that the outfit exhibited her disapproval with the United States military's Don't ask, don't tell policy and further clarified, "If we don't stand up for what we believe in and if we don't fight for our rights, pretty soon we're going to have as much rights as the meat on our own bones. And I am not a piece of meat." She also commented on the outfit's nature, "...it is certainly no disrespect to anyone that is vegan or vegetarian. As you know, I am the most judgment-free human being on the earth." Afterwards, DeGeneres, who is a vegan, jokingly gave Gaga a bikini and skirt made from lettuce and other various vegetables.

References

References

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2. Kaufman, Gil. (2010-08-03). "Lady Gaga's 13 VMA Nominations: How Do They Measure Up?". [[MTV Networks]].
3. Kreps, Daniel. (2010-09-13). "Lady Gaga Names Her New Album 'Born This Way'". Rolling Stone.
4. Vena, Jocelyn. (2010-09-13). "Lady Gaga Meat Dress Draws Criticism From PETA". [[MTV Networks]].
5. Carter, Kelley L.. (2010-09-13) [https://web.archive.org/web/20100918055919/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1647778/20100913/story.jhtml 2010 VMAs Nab MTV's Biggest Ratings Since 2002. MTV Video Music Awards]. Mtv.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-25.
6. "MTV Music".
7. Everett, Cristina. (2010-09-13). "Elliptical vs. treadmill: Which will give you the better workout?". Daily News.
8. [http://collections.walkerart.org/item/object/957 Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic – Collections – Walker Art Center] {{Webarchive. link. (2010-12-21 . Collections.walkerart.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-25.)
9. Clott, Sharon. (2010-09-13). "Everything You Wanted To Know About Lady Gaga's VMA Meat Dress!". [[MTV Networks]].
10. Gray, Richard. (2012). "The Performance Identities of Lady Gaga". McFarland and Company Inc. Publishers.
11. Newkirk, Ingrid. (2010-09-13). "Lady Gaga's Meat Dress". [[PETA]].