Eminem leads MTV video awards with four wins
ByAug 29, 2002 10:00 PM
Eminem took home four awards to lead the charge at the MTV Video Music Awards Thursday at Radio City Music Hall, and also managed get embroiled in yet another controversy.
Eminem took home four awards to lead the charge at the MTV Video Music Awards Thursday at Radio City Music Hall, and also managed get embroiled in yet another controversy.
The controversy began during a bit in which Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, a puppet that regularly appears on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, was talking with Moby. Triumph brought up the negative comments that Eminem made about the techno star on his CD. When the puppet moved on to confront Eminem, the rapper waved the puppet off, refusing to take its trademark verbal barbs.
Shortly thereafter, Eminem won Best Male Video for “Without Me"--presented to him by Christina Aguilera, about whom he made unflattering comments on his last album. She was visibly uncomfortable, quickly giving him the award and scooting away.
“I don’t know what to say when I’m getting these awards, man,” Eminem said while accepting the award. “I got a list of people I cannot forget to thank. Sorry that whole Moby [thing] threw me out of my zone.”
Eminem quickly returned to the Moby feud, though, apparently calling Moby “a girl.” When many in the audience started booing, he said, “Yeah, keep booing, little girl. I will hit a man with glasses"--a comment that elicited even louder boos from the crowd.
Shortly thereafter, Eminem took the stage to accept the video of the year award for his clip for “Without Me,” and seemed to apologize for his outburst. After all, he said, he was going through classes in anger management.
Eminem’s fellow Detroiters The White Stripes picked up three awards on the night, and Pink and No Doubt took home two apiece.
Handed one of her awards by Avril Lavigne and Lisa Marie Presley (who was wearing a “Bite Me” T-shirt), Pink brought a posse on stage that included her boyfriend, extreme-sports athlete Carey Hart.
“That’s my entourage. I’ve always wanted to be a rapper,” said Pink, who was continually pulling up her pants. “I’m too drunk for this. … Thank you to my fans because you guys stuck by me and you’re open minded and you believe music is freedom.”
As Pink left the stage, Fallon imitated a drunken Pink. When she passed through the curtain he asked, “Isn’t that annoying?”
Rising from within a giant boom box, ‘NSync’s Justin Timberlake made his solo debut with his Michael Jackson-inspired single “Like I Love You.”
In an apparent effort to show that the group is still intact despite Timberlake’s solo effort, ‘NSync (sans Lance Bass who is training for a Russian space flight) announced the next award.
The most touching moment came when Carson Daly announced the formation of the Lisa Lopes AIDS scholarship, named after the late TLC member who died in a car crash earlier this year. The scholarship will grant $25,000 to a young person committed to the fight against the disease. After a video montage, TLC’s surviving members, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, approached the podium, hand in hand, with tears in their eyes.
“Thank you. I want to start out by saying God is good. That’s the only reason we’re able to stand here tonight,” T-Boz said nervously. “Also, I want to thank Lisa’s family. … Her mother, brother and sister have given us tremendous strength. Thank you MTV. Lisa would have been very happy. TLC’s fans, we have the best fans in the world and because of the fans, that’s the big part of the reason why we’re able to remain.”
The duo walked away from the stage, but Daly gently encouraged Chilli to speak.
“Um, this is so hard because it’s a such a reality check,” said Chilli, who was near sobbing and holding a tissue in her hand. “There’s only two of us up here and she’s so missed but we want to thank everybody for your support and being there for us. We really thank you. We love you guys. We know that Lisa is smiling and we just hope she’s proud of us right now.”
Two “American Idol” finalists gave Avril Lavigne her best new artist video award. When one of the finalists tried to hug her, Lavigne jerked away, apparently trying to avoid her. But she was thankful for the prize.
“Dude, this is amazing,” Lavigne said. “My dreams are coming true. This is something that I won’t take for granted. I’ve had this dream for a very long time,” she added, letting out a large scream before leaving the stage.
Jack and Meg White from the White Stripes thanked presenters Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, from whom they received the prize for Breakthrough Video, during their nonchalant speech.
During one of the night’s more surreal moments, Britney Spears made a short birthday presentation to Michael Jackson, during which she said that he was one of her favorite artists of the millennium. Jackson mistakenly interpreted the remark to mean that he was being presented with an Artist of the Millennium award (which does not exist). Jackson gave an acceptance speech and expressed disbelief that he had been named “Artist of the Millennium,” not realizing that it was simply a presentation celebrating his 44th birthday.
In a somber moment, Jennifer Lopez--who made a point of stressing that she is a native New Yorker--introduced former New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani.
Guiliani brought on stage Sheryl Crow who performed “Safe and Sound” at a piano with a string section nearby. A slideshow of New York City sights accompanied her, ending with the “I Love New York” logo.
Guns N’ Roses was the surprise guest this year, and performed a medley of its songs that included “Welcome to the Jungle.”
Later in the evening, GN’R lead-singer Axl Rose, spoke to MTV about his group’s long-delayed new album.
“It will come out,” he said. “I wouldn’t say soon. We’ll go back and do some recording and start an American leg of the tour. It’s always hard to rebuild something that got so big and replace virtually every [former band member] with a whole bunch of guys that are something else.”
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off the ceremony with the Sept. 11-inspired “The Rising,” the title-track from his latest album.
Best Video of the Year
Eminem, “Without Me”
Best Male Video
Eminem, “Without Me”
Best Female Video
Pink, “Get This Party Started”
Best Group Video
No Doubt featuring Bounty Killer, “Hey Baby”
Best Rap Video
Eminem, “Without Me”
Best R&B Video
Mary J. Blige, “No More Drama”
Best Hip-Hop Video
Jennifer Lopez featuring Ja Rule, “I’m Real (Remix)”
Best Dance Video
Pink, “Let’s Get This Party Started”
Best Rock Video
Linkin Park, “In the End”
Best Pop Video
No Doubt featuring Bounty Killer, “Hey Baby”
Best New Artist
Avril Lavigne, “Complicated”
Best Video from a Film
Chad Kroeger featuring Josey Scott, “Hero” from “Spider-Man”
Breakthrough Video
The White Stripes, “Fell in Love with a Girl”
MTV2 Award
Dashboard Confessional, “Screaming Infidelities”
Viewer’s Choice Award
Michelle Branch, “Everywhere”
Best Direction in a Video
Eminem, “Without Me” (director Joseph Kahn)
Best Choreography
Kylie Minogue “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”
Best Special Effects
The White Stripes, “Fell in Love with a Girl”
Best Editing in a Video
The White Stripes, “Fell in Love with a Girl”
Best Art Direction in a Video
Coldplay, “Trouble”
Best Cinematography
Moby, “We’re all Made of Stars”