What You Didn't See On TV At The 2018 VMAs

The VMAs are notoriously raucous — from Britney Spears' Madonna makeout to Miley Cyrus' twerk-a-thon. Something always, always happens. Fans speculate that Kanye's iconic "Imma let you finish" moment led Taylor Swift to at least two songs ("Innocent," where she forgave him, and "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things," where she took it back). It was the birthplace of Lil Kim's boob jiggle and Fiona Apple's shocking, "this world is bulls—t" acceptance speech.

In 2018, it was business as usual for the annual awards show. Logic championed against the border wall in the same way Beyonce amplified key voices of the Black Lives Matter movement two years prior. Blac Chyna channeled Rose McGowan's nearly-naked 1998 dress, and Nicki Minaj was feuding with a fellow attendee (would it be the VMAs if she wasn't?).

As far as the Video Music Awards go, 2018 was about as tame as it gets. Kanye couldn't possibly think Beyonce was snubbed for Best Female Video because the category no longer exists. Madonna didn't offer up a shocking kiss during her controversial Aretha Franklin tribute, and the Backstreet Boys reunion was panned by Twitter (we'd expect this from 98 Degrees, but come on). The network may have captured AJ McLean's accidental curse word, but they didn't catch everything. Here's what you didn't see on TV at the 2018 VMAs.

Nicki Minaj may have won Best Hip Hop Video at the VMAs, but before the star received her Moon Man, she let her jealous side show. Minaj took to Twitter to blast Travis Scott after his album Astroworld soared to No. 1 leaving her new album Queen at No. 2.

Minaj claimed that she had the real No. 1 album because Scott more or less cheated by having his baby mama Kylie Jenner pump his tour art on Instagram which inflated the numbers.

"I put my blood sweat and tears in writing a dope album only for Travis Scott to have Kylie Jenner post a tour pass telling ppl [sic] to come see her and Stormi," she wrote.

Typically, Minaj's beef would be lost in the Internet abyss, but the VMAs has a way of bringing out the pettiest in people (lest we forget the "Miley, what's good?" incident). As TMZ reports, Minaj was originally seated right in front of Scott and Jenner at the awards ceremony. Scott was having nothing to do with being stuck behind the star (he was No. 1 after all), and reportedly moved to the opposite side of the room (i.e. as far away from her as he could get). Jenner apparently went with him.

Travis Scott wasn't the only one on Nicki Minaj's bad side at the VMAs. According to TMZ, the event brought on extra security guards to handle Minaj's issues with her ex, should a close and heated encounter occur.

Safaree Samuels, who split from Minaj in 2014, claimed he almost died after the rapper stabbed him and tried to kill him. Though TMZ claims to have seen a video of Minaj chasing Samuels with a knife, the "Chun-Li" singer claimed he was a liar. The VMAs mark the first time the pair would be near each other since the allegations surfaced. Apparently, measures were put in place to make sure the two didn't speak at all (which is probably for the best).

That still didn't stop Samuels from taking a couple shots at the rapper before the ceremony commenced. When TMZ reporters asked the star if he thinks karma is the reason Minaj's album sunk to No. 2, he said "You just gotta let the work speak for itself and not give a rebuttal to everything." He also admitted that he "definitely" didn't purchase or listen to her album. Burn.

The 2018 VMAs was a big night for Cardi B. Not only did she take home the awards for Best New Artist, Song of Summer, and Best Collaboration (alongside Jennifer Lopez), but it was her first public appearance since giving birth to her daughter, Kulture. When the star announced that she'd be appearing at the event, it was rumored that this would be her first post-pregnancy performance. Unfortunately, she wasn't feeling up to it.

According to People, the new mom was supposed to open the 2018 ceremony — which she did, but without the anticipated performance. In a short interview with TMZ, the star said she wouldn't perform again until she's feeling better. Poor Cardi hasn't been feeling physically up to it since having Kulture and pulled out of her tour dates with Bruno Mars.

That didn't stop the "Bodak Yellow" singer from slaying the awards show anyway. According to Page Six, she stunned with a whopping $4 million worth of jewelry. She also pulled a total fake-out and made us believe she was breastfeeding Kulture. If there was anyone who was going to smash the patriarchy by breastfeeding on live TV, it would have been Cardi B. Too bad it was just one of her many awards, instead. 

Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson used the 2018 VMAs to make their debut as an engaged couple. Davidson confirmed their engagement in a June episode of The Tonight Show. He described the experience as "f—ing lit." As it turns out, so were the VMAs.

Though the couple snapped a few photos on the pink carpet and packed on the PDA, the pair got over the general vibe pretty quickly (such is the luxury of being a Hollywood "it" couple). They ended up ducking out early and skipping over most of the paparazzi. Needless to say, some photogs were less than pleased about missing out on the couple's first major photo op. 

In a video posted to Twitter, Davidson and Grande were caught crouching down and running across almost the entirety of the red carpet as the paps angrily yelled at them to stop. One even repeatedly screamed "Come on!" By the looks of it, the pair also ruined some photos for the stars of The Hills, who unfortunately got caught in the crossfire (but Lauren Conrad wasn't there, so does it matter?).

Despite starting their night with an onslaught of angry paps, Grande and Davidson were all smiles. The event was a family affair, and the Sweetener singer later shared the stage with her aunt, grandmother and mother during a touching performance of "God Is a Woman."

It's no secret that Blac Chyna doesn't really get along with the Kardashian clan. The dissolution of her relationship with Rob played out through a series of reality TV episodes, obscene social media posts and legal battles. Apparently, things still haven't been smoothed over with Rob's little sister Kylie Jenner, and Chyna showed up to the VMAs looking for a fight.

According to Hollywood Life, Chyna didn't want to avoid Jenner on the pink carpet (though Jenner probably already had her hands full with Nicki Minaj). In fact, the tab insists that Rob's ex purposely wished for an awkward run in where she'd finally get the chance to tell off the young makeup mogul. Apparently, Chyna was angry about how Jenner's family treated her and thought Jenner's spin-off Life of Kylie was the reason Rob & Chyna was cancelled (not the various abuse allegations and restraining order).

Of course, it seems like nothing actually happened. Maybe Jenner managed to steer clear; maybe Chyna felt like a G-string didn't really give her enough mobility for a public altercation; or maybe the whole thing was actually made up by the tabloids.

Talk about the least likely person to show up at the MTV Video Music Awards. Michael Avenatti, the famed lawyer representing Stormy Daniels, confused the masses when he made an appearance at the teen-centric awards show. What exactly was going on? Is 2018 more doomed than we had originally anticipated? 

"Well, I was invited to this great event. It's a pretty cool event," he told Variety (via Esquire). "I thought I'd show up." Well that was ... anti-climactic. 

The outspoken lawyer has famously gone head-to-head with Donald Trump ever since Daniels accused him of having an affair. He's also been floating around the idea of running against the billionaire in the 2020 presidential election — but only if Democrats can't find someone better. Esquire reports that Avenatti told Variety he was "seriously looking at it." As for the VMAs, perhaps he's feeling out a potential voter base. Moving on ...

Noah Cyrus is following in the footsteps of her older sister Miley and scandalizing the masses at the MTV VMAs. Though she didn't twerk on a middle-aged man, she did pack on some heavy PDA with Soundcloud rapper boyfriend Lil Xan.  

Xan and Cyrus had a lot to celebrate at this year's awards show. Access reports that they released a single together called "Live or Die" the day prior and were up against each other for Push Artist of the Year. Apparently, the competition didn't get to them as Xan snuggled into Cyrus' bare neck while she smiled for the paps. Oh, young love.

The couple apparently announced their relationship on Instagram earlier in August after Xan slid into her DMs — a classic move for a classy guy. Diplo apparently offered to DJ their wedding, and by the looks of it, they very well could be the next Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson. It's hard to tell which couple had more fun at the VMAs.

After six years of sobriety, Demi Lovato publicly confirmed that she had relapsed with her gutting single "Sober." The star was hospitalized following an overdose a month later and remained in doctors' care for nearly two weeks, according to People. Us Weekly reported that the singer planned to go to rehab following her release.

With such a tragic situation, the VMAs were left in a tough spot. Lovato was nominated for Best Pop Video and Best Latin Video (for her collaboration with Luis Fonsi), but it was unclear how the show planned to address her overdose and still pull-off an "energetic, positive and loud" event.

"We just talked about this. We toggle back and forth with this big platform. Sometimes, the thought is, 'Let's use this for a greater good.' But sometimes, we get feedback that people want to come in and escape the world for a minute," executive producer Brad Gilmer told Us Weekly.

Ariana Grande ended up taking home the Moon Man for Best Pop Video, but that didn't mean Lovato's pals weren't there to show her support. Both Fonsi and Hayley Kiyoko wished the singer the best ahead of the awards show.

Rihanna made out pretty well at the 2018 VMAs. Her video for "Lemon" with N.E.R.D. took home the award for Best Editing. Too bad she wasn't there to accept it. Just like you'd expect, Rihanna was way too busy living her best life to bother with the arguably least-controversial year of the awards show.

The singer had a whirlwind wedding weekend days before the event. According to Essence, she jet-set to Barbados to be a bridesmaid for her longtime pal Sonita Alexander. After that, she was off to Cuba, the rumored location of a mystery film project with "This Is America" singer Donald Glover. According to W Magazine, the project has been dubbed Guava Island, and it could be anything from a music video to a full-fledged feature film (we'll just have to wait to find that one out).

Rihanna was sorely missed at the VMAs and even slightly rubbed it in. During the event, the singer posted a video of herself happily twirling around in a gold dress. According to People, the town square pictured was in Havana, Cuba. Way to have fun without us, girl.