10 Super Awkward Moments From the 2026 VMAs
The 2026 MTV Video Music Awards delivered the usual mix of huge performances, major wins, unexpected appearances, and live-TV chaos. Held at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater on September 27 and hosted by Snoop Dogg, the ceremony also produced plenty of moments that left viewers wondering what, exactly, they had just watched.
Some were genuinely funny. Others were simply strange. And a few had the unmistakable energy of a live broadcast that did not go exactly according to plan.
Here are 10 of the most awkward moments from the night.
1. The VMAs started 20 minutes late because of a football game
There are few ways to begin an awards show that feel less glamorous than making viewers wait.
The 2026 VMAs were scheduled as a live broadcast, but the stream reportedly got underway about 20 minutes late because of a football game.
For anyone who had settled in specifically to watch the ceremony, it was an awkward start to an already unpredictable night.
2. Sienna Spiro turned the cameras around on the photographers
Sienna Spiro was one of the new faces attracting plenty of attention at this year’s VMAs, making her performance debut and competing for Best New Artist.
But on the red carpet, she briefly flipped the usual celebrity-photographer dynamic.
Instead of simply posing for the photographers surrounding her, Spiro picked up a colorful camera and started photographing them.
It was playful, unexpected, and probably one of the more wholesome kinds of awkwardness on the carpet.
3. Sombr’s “SEX” belt was impossible to miss
Sombr certainly wasn’t going for a low-key red-carpet look.
The musician arrived wearing a fur coat, leather trousers and a crystal-and-stone-encrusted belt buckle spelling out “Sex.” The statement accessory quickly became the most talked-about part of his outfit.
Considering the VMAs have never exactly been known for understated fashion, that is saying something.
The outfit was completed with a handmade silver and pearl skate chain, making the entire look feel deliberately theatrical from top to bottom.
4. Snoop Dogg opened with a “Knock-Knock” joke that went straight to “DEEZ NUTS!”
Snoop Dogg had the difficult job of opening and hosting a live VMAs ceremony, so viewers probably expected a few unpredictable jokes.
They got one almost immediately.
During the opening, Snoop launched into a “Knock-Knock” joke, only for the punchline to land on “DEEZ NUTS!”
It was very much the kind of joke that can either get a huge reaction or leave everyone sitting there wondering how quickly they can move on.
Snoop’s hosting role was already one of the defining features of the 2026 ceremony, which marked the VMAs’ return to the West Coast.
5. Raye’s gloves got stuck at exactly the wrong moment
Wardrobe malfunctions are practically an occupational hazard at live awards shows, and Raye found herself dealing with one onstage.
While participating in the ceremony, her gloves became stuck, turning what should have been a polished awards-show moment into an awkward struggle.
It was one of those situations where everyone involved has to keep going while the audience watches the problem unfold in real time.
6. Madonna revealed that she had to personally DM Sabrina Carpenter
Madonna’s return to the VMAs was already a major part of the 2026 ceremony. She opened the show with her first live VMAs performance in 23 years.
Then came an unexpectedly personal detail involving Sabrina Carpenter.
Madonna revealed that she had to personally send Sabrina a direct message, or DM, to get her attention.
The exchange immediately became one of those stories that feels slightly surreal simply because of the people involved. Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter sharing a moment onstage is one thing. Finding out Madonna had to slide into Sabrina’s DMs adds an entirely different layer of awkwardness.
7. Pat Smear lit a cigarette onstage while accepting Nirvana’s award
Pat Smear brought an entirely different kind of chaos to the ceremony.
While accepting Nirvana’s award alongside Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, Smear lit a cigarette onstage.
The image was about as far from a carefully rehearsed awards-show acceptance speech as you could get.
Nirvana’s appearance was already significant: the band was being honored with the Video Vanguard Award at the 2026 VMAs.
Then Pat Smear added a cigarette to the moment.
8. Rachel Dratch became the imaginary sixth Spice Girl
Rachel Dratch’s appearance in the Dunkin’ campaign was already unusual enough: she played Pumpkin Spice, the fictional sixth member of the Spice Girls.
The character was introduced as the group’s long-lost bandmate alongside Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell-Horner.
The commercial leaned fully into the joke, including Dratch’s attempt at a British accent.
The result had the unmistakable feel of an SNL sketch transported into a Spice Girls reunion, which made her appearance at the VMAs even more amusingly strange. The Dunkin’ campaign was released in September 2026.
9. Madonna forgot which award she had just won
Madonna has spent decades on award-show stages, so even she wasn’t immune to a very human live-TV moment.
At one point during the ceremony, she appeared to forget which award she had just won.
Given the scale of Madonna’s history with the VMAs, it was an especially memorable little stumble.
The moment also fit the overall tone of the night: even the biggest stars were occasionally caught off guard.
10. Yung Lean spent much of his performance licking ice cream
And then there was Yung Lean.
His performance was certainly unconventional, with much of it consisting of him licking ice cream.
That may not have been what everyone expected from a VMAs stage, but the ceremony has always left room for performances that are difficult to explain in a single sentence.
Yung Lean was part of the 2026 performance lineup with GENER8ION, with the pair taking the stage for the world premiere performance of “STORM II.”
The VMAs delivered exactly the kind of live-TV chaos viewers expect
Between a delayed start, unexpected red-carpet antics, questionable jokes, wardrobe trouble, bizarre props and moments that clearly weren’t going according to plan, the 2026 VMAs had plenty of material for viewers to talk about afterward.
The ceremony may have been built around awards and performances, but some of the most memorable moments came in the spaces between them.
And, as always with live television, sometimes the moments nobody planned are the ones people remember.