Cardi B picked up the Best Hip Hop award for her hit single “Money” at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards.
During her acceptance speech Monday night in Newark, New Jersey, the rapper danced on stage to chants of “Cardi, Cardi, Cardi.” Then she gave props to her glam squad for making her look like a million bucks.
“Since this is a video music award, I really want to thank my music video team,” she said, before mentioning the director who “edited my stomach and my butt… smoothed my cellulite out.”
YAS! Congrats @iamcardib on winning Best Hip-Hop at the #VMAs pic.twitter.com/kDCKBiaWC8
— MTV (@MTV) August 27, 2019
Other winners at the VMAs included Taylor Swift and Lil Nas X, who picked up the Song of the Year Moon Person trophy for “Old Town Road” with Billy Ray Cyrus.
“This is my first award ever,” Lil Nas X said, before tipping his hat to Cyrus. “I want to say thank you to this man for helping me take my career to the next level.”
CONGRATS @taylorswift13 on her SECOND time winning VIDEO OF THE YEAR #VMAs pic.twitter.com/l8TOibbTTr
— Video Music Awards (@vmas) August 27, 2019
Taylor Swift used her acceptance speech to strike a more serious note and called out the White House for failing to take action on the Equality Act.
Swift won the Video of the Year award for “You Need to Calm Down,” which features a gay pride theme and a cast of LGBTQ celebrities. She began her speech by noting that fans decided who won the Video of the Year honor.
“In this video, several points were made,” Swift said. “So you voting for this video means that you want a world where we’re all treated equally, regardless of who we love, regardless of how we identify.”
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She then thanked everyone who signed her petition supporting the Equality Act, which she said now has half a million signatures. Swift noted that’s five times the number of signatures needed to warrant a response from the White House.” She pretended to check her watch, signaling it’s time for a response.
Ariana Grande was the night’s biggest winner, but she didn’t attend the show. Check out the full list of winners below.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down”/Republic Records
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Ariana Grande – Republic Records
SONG OF THE YEAR
Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)”/Columbia Records
BEST NEW ARTIST
Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records
BEST COLLABORATION
Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello – “Señorita”/Island Records
PUSH ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Billie Eilish – Darkroom/Interscope Records
BEST POP
Jonas Brothers – “Sucker”/Republic Records
BEST HIP HOP
Cardi B – “Money”/Atlantic Records
BEST R&B
Normani ft. 6lack – “Waves” – Keep Cool/RCA Records
BEST GROUP
BTS
BEST EDITING
Billie Eilish – “bad guy” – Darkroom/Interscope Records – Editing by Billie Eilish
BEST ART DIRECTION
Ariana Grande – “7 Rings”/Republic Records – Art Direction by John Richoux
BEST K-POP
BTS ft. Halsey – “Boy With Luv”/Columbia Records
BEST LATIN
Rosalía & J Balvin ft. El Guincho – “Con Altura”/Columbia Records
BEST DANCE
The Chainsmokers ft. Bebe Rexha – “Call You Mine” – Disruptor/Columbia Records
BEST ROCK
Panic! At The Disco – “High Hopes”/Elektra Music Group
VIDEO FOR GOOD
Taylor Swift – “You Need to Calm Down”/Republic Records
SONG OF SUMMER
Ariana Grande, Social House – “Boyfriend”
