The 2018 MTV Video Music Awards were full of memorable onscreen moments. From a Hills reboot announcement to a showstopping performance by Video Vanguard Award recipient Jennifer Lopez, music’s wildest night was a treat to watch.
But the cameras couldn’t catch everything. Here, The Hollywood Reporter rounds up the best things that didn’t make it to air from Monday night, both on the pink carpet and inside New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
Kylie Jenner and Blac Chyna narrowly avoid each other
Friends turned enemies Jenner and Chyna almost had a run-in on the carpet. Moments after the lip-kit mogul was escorted past media to a hidden entrance, Chyna — who shares an ex, Tyga, with Jenner, and infamously dated her brother, Rob Kardashian — posed for photographers.
Ashanti sings Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” on the carpet
Though Franklin wasn’t a buzzy topic on the carpet, Ashanti made sure to bring her up during interviews. At one point, the R&B singer even started belting out Franklin’s big hit “Respect.” Ashanti’s impromptu performance came hours before Madonna sparked criticism for her questionable tribute to the Queen of Soul.
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Speidi dances with their son to Nicki Minaj inside the show
During Minaj’s Queen medley, which aired from downtown New York on a giant monitor inside the hall, Hills stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt danced their way down the aisle with son Gunner attached to his mom’s hip. As Montag bounced her little boy up and down to Minaj’s music, proud dad Pratt filmed the action on his iPhone.
Pete Davidson and Frankie Grande run backstage after Ariana Grande’s “God Is a Woman” performance
Grande served up a feminist perspective on Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, and brought out her mother, Joan; her beloved Nonna; and her cousin Lani at the end of her number. The pop star’s fiance, Pete Davidson, and brother, Frankie, waved to the on-stage group from their seats. Immediately after the performance, Davidson and Frankie Grande ran backstage to presumably join Ariana Grande and the others.
Special effects were superimposed onscreen
While it looked like rain filled Radio City for Shawn Mendes’ opening performance of “In My Blood,” there weren’t any waterworks in the audience. Special effects, including Mendes’ faux precipitation and the snow seen during J.Lo’s “All I Have,” were superimposed for viewers at home.
Kylie Jenner snaps the majority of boyfriend Travis Scott’s performance
The second the rapper and his collaborator James Blake hit the stage, Scott’s girlfriend, Jenner — with whom he shares a 6-month-old daughter, Stormi — stood up to take cellphone footage of the performance. In between taking pics and videos for her social media feed, Jenner danced along to Scott and Blake’s medley of “Stargazing,” “Stop Trying to Be God” and “Sicko Mode.”
Steven Tyler rushes out of Radio City
After closing the show with his band, Aerosmith, and rappers Post Malone and 21 Savage, 70-year-old Tyler — surrounded by a group of security guards — ran as fast as he could to make an exit. As he was booking it, the rock star ignored praise from show attendees and fans hoping he might pause for a selfie.
