The 2025 MTV Video Music Awards proved to be a star-studded night as the likes of Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande flocked to New York City for the ceremony on Sunday.
With so many music A-listers under one roof, the celebration produced countless viral moments that captivated social media during its incredible three-hour runtime.
From Grande allegedly ‘shading’ pop rival Sabrina Carpenter to Video Vanguard Award recipient Carey’s ‘lackluster’ stage presence, fans had plenty to feast on.
The night’s performances also had fans talking, with Carpenter’s first-ever live rendition of Tears facing backlash from the LGBTQIA+ community and Aerosmith’s Ozzy Osbourne tribute bringing audiences to ‘tears.’
The red carpet wasn’t without its controversies as Doja Cat sparked an online frenzy after she was caught eating her lipstick in front of photographers.
With another MTV VMAs in the books, Daily Mail is rounding up the night’s most viral moments.
Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘frosty’ behind-the-scenes exchange
During the lengthy ceremony, Grande was accused of shading Carpenter as an awkward encounter between them was caught on camera.
A video of the two singers talking and hugging at the 2025 VMAs went viral thanks to a seemingly ‘frosty’ response from Ariana.
The clip showed the two women embracing and chatting while backstage during the awards show.
But when Sabrina, 26, went to hug Ariana, 32, a second time, the Wicked actress failed to put her arms around the Espresso songstress, making for a slightly uncomfortable interaction.
Ariana Grande has been accused of shading Sabrina Carpenter as an awkward encounter between them at the MVA Video Music Awards was caught on camera
Fans were quick to discuss the seemingly tense moment online, with some accusing Ariana of being ‘fake’ and speculating that she wasn’t too fond of Sabrina.
Casino.ca’s body language expert Judi James analyzed the moment exclusively to the Daily Mail, and she noted that the ‘partial hug’ certainly looked ‘frosty.’
‘[Ariana] holds her arms out for a frosty-looking partial hug that has “brakes” on it via the holding of the elbows,’ Judi explained.
‘There is a small dance on the spot with excitement but it is rather low-key compared to the kind of fan-like hand kissing she performed on Lady Gaga.’
Even so, Judi added that the God Is a Woman hitmaker kept her ‘cool’ and came off as ‘professional.’
‘Ariana performed many acts of fan-like lowered status and respect tonight but the body language signals from her greeting ritual with Sabrina tonight suggested she retained her own status while keeping it rather cool,’ she continued.
‘The body language looks professional here … but with the elbow-clutching the suggestion is that these two stars don’t know each other very well.’
A video of the two singers talking and hugging at the 2025 VMAs has gone viral thanks to a seemingly ‘frosty’ response from Ariana
Mariah Carey’s accused of doing ‘bare minimum’ on stage
Despite her legend status, Mariah couldn’t escape the wrath of VMA viewers as they accused her of doing the ‘bare minimum’ on stage.
The singer, 56, was presented with the Video Vanguard Award during the 2025 VMAs during the star-studded event.
Dressed in a sparkly gold body suit, she performed a medley of her hits afterwards, including Sugar Sweet, Fantasy, Honey, Obsessed, and It’s Like That.
But the hitmaker was mocked on social media afterwards, as hordes of fans felt her performance was lackluster.
Mariah Carey has been brutally roasted online over her MTV Video Music Awards performance, with users slamming her for doing the ‘bare minimum’ on stage
Many X users called her out for seeming ‘stiff’ and walking extremely slowly around the stage, while others accused her of lip syncing
Many X users called her out for seeming ‘stiff’ and walking extremely slowly around the stage, while others accused her of lip syncing.
‘Mariah Carey being introduced as the queen of vocals and she’s just lip syncing…’ one user wrote.
‘Mariah Carey doing the least possible movement,’ noted another.
‘Mariah stay giving us the bare minimum,’ penned someone else.
‘Mariah out here all stiff and s**t… Girl if you got back problems tell ’em you can’t perform…’ read a fourth tweet.
A fifth said, ‘Mariah just existing on stage.’
‘Mariah don’t be moving at all,’ scathed a different person.
Dressed in a sparkly gold body suit, she performed a medley of her hits afterwards, including Sugar Sweet, Fantasy, Honey, Obsessed, and It’s Like That
Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘raunchy’ Tears performance protesting for trans rights divides fans
Carpenter left fans divided with her raunchy performance at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, during which she advocated for trans rights.
Some have accused the 26-year-old singer of ‘fetishizing’ the trans community with her rendition of her latest single, ‘Tears,’ which features explicit lyrics.
Carpenter was joined on stage by drag queens — including Honey Balenciaga, Symone, Dashaun Wesley, Richie Shazam — for her performance at the UBS Arena in New York, which included a dance break in the rain.
Sabrina Carpenter, 26, left fans divided with her raunchy performance at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, during which she advocated for trans rights
Some have accused the singer of ‘fetishizing’ the trans community with her rendition of her latest single, ‘Tears,’ which features explicit lyrics
Her background dancers also carried signs that read ‘In trans we trust’, ‘Dolls, dolls, dolls,’ ‘Support drag,’ ‘Protect trans rights’ and ‘If you hate, you’ll never get laid.’
Later in the show, Carpenter returned to the stage to accept the award for Best Album, thanking her ‘queens on stage.’
But not all fans were pleased, with one writing, ‘There’s kind of a weird fetishizing aspect to a lot of the “protect the dolls” stuff but I’m alright not caring about that until there’s a lot less “exterminate the dolls” stuff going on.’
‘“Dolls dolls dolls” unsurprisingly, trans identifying males are the focus over the females, and in classic Sabrina Carpenter fashion womanhood is turned into a plastic, hyperfeminine, hypersexualized product designed to cater to and be sold to men,’ another added.
‘They turn concerts into campaign rallies, then wonder why people stop watching.’
Her background dancers also carried signs that read ‘In trans we trust’, ‘Dolls, dolls, dolls,’ ‘Support drag,’ ‘Protect trans rights’ and ‘If you hate, you’ll never get laid’
Not all of her fans were pleased, with one accusing the singer of turning womanhood ‘into a plastic, hyperfeminine, hypersexualized product designed to cater to and be sold to men’
But others defended the singer, saying it was ‘absurd’ to take issue with the performance which was ‘defending trans rights’
Another wrote: ‘One reason many Americans did not watch the VMAs.’
Another called the performance ‘fake activism.’
‘This feels performative.’
But others defended the singer, saying it was ‘absurd’ to take issue with the performance which was ‘defending trans rights.’
Tate McRae pushes boundaries of family-friendly show
McRae injected a spicy touch to the awards show as she delivered a steamy performance of Revolving Door and Sports Car.
Flanked by hunky backup dancers resembling Greek gods, Tate, 22, worked her magic in sexy white crop top and hot pants for a show that soon turned steamy.
She seductively bounced about a giant sand box while her backup dancers – clad in little more than speedos and shimmer – followed her.
Tate McRae injected a spicy touch to the awards show as she delivered a steamy performance of Revolving Door and Sports Car
One fan gushed McRae ‘was so f**king hot in the performance’
Tate strutted across the stage with a smooth finesse.
She finished off the performance on the floor, contorting her body in a sensual manner as flames erupted in the background.
The performance delighted fans attending in person and those watching from the comfort of their homes, with thunderous cheers heard in the background.
Tate received overwhelming positive response to her performance, with fans hailing her as the next Britney Spears (a comparison she has previously received).
The performance soon turned steamy as she slithered about in a giant sand box
Ariana Grande’s brother’s ‘weird’ reaction to Tate McRae’s sexy performance
Not everyone in the audience at UBS Arena appeared to love McRare’s performance, including Ariana Grande’s older brother Frankie Grande.
The 42-year-old — who was there in support of Ariana along with their mother Joan — was caught making a sour expression as McRae performed her racy routine.
Fans wondered what the ‘beef’ was between Frankie and Tate as the clip of his reaction began to circulate on X (formerly Twitter).
‘frankie grande reaction to tate mcrae on vmas tonight is weird idk,’ penned on disappointed fan.
However, Frankie looked to be a fan of McRae’s later in the night as she approached his A-list sister for a chat and a photo. He was seen shaking the 22-year-old’s hand.
Not everyone in the audience at UBS Arena appeared to love McRare’s performance, including Ariana Grande’s older brother Frankie Grande
The 42-year-old — who was there in support of Ariana along with their mother Joan — was caught making a sour expression as McRae performed her racy routine
However, Frankie looked to be a fan of McRae’s later in the night as she approached his A-list sister for a chat and a photo
