The Best, Worst and Most Oops Moments of the 2025 VMAs
See which moments of the 2025 MTV VMAs had everybody talking — and which were the worst moments of the night The MTV VMAs can always be counted on for a few things: Memorable performances, lots of creative nudity and plenty of “best, worst and oops” moments to discuss. The PEOPLE staff had plenty of hot takes (or shall we say Pop Takes?) about everything from the acrobatics of Tate McRae to the many wardrobe changes of Ariana Grande, and by the end of the night, some clear favorites had emerged. See what we deemed the best and worst moments of the 2025 MTV VMAs
When presented with the best new artist award during the pre-show, Alex Warren declared that his excitement might manifest itself in gastrointestinal distress. “I don’t even know what to say to you right now. I pooped twice today. I might go a third,” he mused, adding, “you’d like that for ratings, wouldn’t you?”
When you think of Mariah Carey, the word “underappreciated” might not be the first one that comes to mind — there are few artists more iconic on the planet — and yet, her Video Vanguard award Sunday night was the first time she took home a Moon Person. This is the lady who gave us the “Heartbreaker” music video, in which she fights herself. What were you people thinking for the past 35 years?! Watch that video again and feel shame!
Ricky Martin picked up the show’s first ever Latin Icon Award — but he was already a winner for the fact that his performance of “Livin’ La Vida Loca” as part of a medley of his hits was virtually indistinguishable from his performance of the same in 1999 (right), the year he won best pop video for that song.
