Britney Spears kiss, Miley twerking and 8 other controversial moments from VMAs

The biggest night in pop culture is finally back. After what feels like an eternity, the MTV VMAs will take over our screens once again.

There’s only one award show that consistently feeds us with jaw-dropping performances, unforgettable red-carpet moments, and memes that will be quoted for years to come.

And of course, the actual awards - the legendary Moon Person, formerly known as the Moon Man.

Speaking of awards, Madonna is the most nominated artist this year after releasing Confessions II. The Queen of Pop is up for an incredible 13 awards, including Video of the Year and Artist of the Year.

The “Bring Your Love” singer is also set to make her highly anticipated return to the VMAs stage for the first time in 23 years. The last time the best-selling female artist of all time performed at the ceremony, she delivered her now-infamous rendition of “Like a Virgin” and “Hollywood” before sharing a kiss with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in one of the most talked-about moments in VMAs history.

Madonna's 2003 performance caused outrage at the time (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

When it comes to shocking moments, Madonna and the VMAs have always been a perfect match. From jaw-dropping performances to headline-making controversies, let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit some of the ceremony’s most unforgettable moments.

Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” performance (1984)

The very first VMAs, held on September 14, 1984, wasted no time making pop-culture history. Madonna took to the stage to perform her then-new single “Like a Virgin” in a wedding dress, writhing across the stage and flashing her underwear.

Years later, she revealed that she had actually lost one of her shoes during the performance. Rather than stop, she improvised, rolling around on the stage as she tried to retrieve it, turning an onstage mishap into part of the performance.

Madonna later shared that her manager at the time told her afterwards, somewhat ironically, that her career was over.

Madonna performed at the first MTV VMAs in 1984 (MTV/YouTube/Madonna(

Nirvana's unexpected performance (1992)

Grunge was massive in the early nineties and the biggest band in the genre was Nirvana. MTV asked the band to perform hits smash hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” Kurt Cobain agreed to sing “Lithium” but briefly played the opening of their controversial track “Rape Me” which came as a huge surprise to execs.

Nirvana performed one of their most controversial tracks (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)

Diana Ross grabs Lil’ Kim’s breast (1999)

At the 1999 ceremony, Mary J. Blige and Lil’ Kim took the stage to introduce Diana Ross. But it was Ross who stole the moment when she playfully grabbed and jiggled Lil’ Kim’s exposed breast.

The legendary rapper wore her famously provocative purple outfit, and the unexpected move stunned the audience and became part of MTV history.

Lil' Kim and Mary J. Blige welcomed Diana Ross to the stage (MTV)

Britney Spears and the snake (2001)

Britney Spears took the VMAs to the jungle in 2001, performing “I’m a Slave 4 U” with an unexpected co-star: a live albino Burmese python draped across her shoulders. The image of Spears holding the enormous snake became one of the ceremony’s most enduring moments.

Britney Spears performed with a 7-foot albino Burmese python named Banana in 2001 (Kevin Kane/WireImag)

Britney Spears’ Gimme More comeback (2007)

By 2007, Britney Spears was under extraordinary media scrutiny when she returned to the VMA stage to perform her legendary anthem “Gimme More”.

But before the song became engrained in pop culture, her MTV VMAs comeback quickly became one of the ceremony’s most dissected performances.

In her memoir The Woman in Me, Spears later revealed that she had suffered a panic attack backstage before taking the stage.

Britney Spears' comeback in 2007 was criticised by the press and public (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Lady Gaga’s bloody “Paparazzi” performance (2009)

Lady Gaga was still relatively new to the pop scene when she delivered one of the VMAs’ most theatrical performances in 2009.

Singing “Paparazzi”, Gaga appeared in a dramatic, bedazzled white ensemble before the performance took a macabre turn. She was left appearing bloodied and hanging from the ceiling by a rope, turning the stage into something closer to a gothic extravaganza art (pop) moment than a traditional set.

Viewers had no idea how the Paparazzi performance would end (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

Kanye West interrupts Taylor Swift (2009)

Few VMA moments have had a cultural afterlife quite like Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech in 2009.

After Swift won Video of the Year for “You Belong With Me”, West stormed the stage and declared that Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” should have won instead. The interruption sparked a years-long public saga involving the two stars, later reignited by West’s 2016 song “Famous” and the involvement of his then-wife Kim Kardashian.

The interruption birthed one of music's most notorious feuds (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Lady Gaga’s meat dress, 2010

Lady Gaga pushed the boundaries again in 2010 when she arrived at the VMAs wearing her infamous meat dress. The look became one of the ceremony’s most talked-about fashion moments, while Gaga also took home the coveted Video of the Year award for “Bad Romance”.

Gaga's meaty ensemble had a mixed reception (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke, 2013

Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus stole the show in 2013 (Andrew H. Walker/WireImage)

During the controversial Bangerz era, Miley Cyrus joined Robin Thicke on stage for a performance of his chart-topping hit “Blurred Lines”. Cyrus’s dancing, particularly her attempts at "twerking", sparked an enormous media reaction and became one of the defining pop-culture moments of the 2013 VMAs.