Everything you need to know!

The MTV Video Music Awards 2022 was a star-studded event, with some new faces to the public arena, such as former Disney Chanel actor, Dove Cameron, and the Italian 2021 Eurovision Winners, Måneskin. Well-renowned artists such as Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Billie Eilish also attended the awards, taking some of the greatest wins such as Billie Eilish with Song of the Year and Taylor Swift’s ground-breaking All Too Well (10-Minute version) winning Video of the Year (as it should!).  

Surprisingly, Johnny Depp also made an appearance… in a space suit! The actor appeared, descending onto the stage in order to do an opening monologue for the show,  stating “ I needed work”,  comically referring to his recent defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard, effectively putting the actor out of work. Though this presence was surprising, it may not be seen as unexpected.. this is how celebrity comebacks work in Hollywood. A period of time passes after a personal controversy of theirs has aired some ‘dirty laundry’ on a public forum. For most D-list celebrities… such as YouTubers, an apology video and a screenshot of their regretful stream of consciousness in their notes app posted to Instagram, appeases the masses. But for a household name such as Depp, appearing in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Edward Scissor Hands and Alice in Wonderland, a floating descension down onto the VMA’s stage seems appropriate…? Though, considering the sensitivity of allegations brought against him, audience members’ reaction as a “combination of confusion and cheers” seems more of a reaction most of us would have to Depp’s strange entrance.  

On a lighter note, Taylor Swift finally won an award without having to fear Kanye West, now known as Ye, taking the trophy from her! Though this incident occurred nearly 13 years ago at the 2009 VMA’s, audiences still reminisce on the awkwardness felt through the screen when the artist was receiving her award for Best Female Video Award for “You Belong With Me”. This time around, Swift was awarded a similar award for her iconic recreation of All Too well (10-minute version) from her album Red, originally released in October 2012. Current Heart-Throb actor Dylan O’Brien and Stranger Things actor, Sadie Sink, played the two main characters in Swift’s video, supposedly reflecting her relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who was 28 when dating the 19-year-old singer. Not only did this video create an accidental “we hate Jake Gyllenhaal” club on the internet but bought light on the influences of Swift’s 2012 album ‘Red’ as she comments in her award-winning song “I’ll get older, but your lovers, stay my age”.  Though this presents a quite confronting truth, Swift also re-released the album to regain the rights over music. In 2019, Swift’s previous manager  Scooter Braun, also the manager of Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Usher, purchased the rights to all of her music. Out of spite and desire to record and release records on her own terms, Swift released multiple of her old albums in her own name, now surpassing the number of streams of the music Braun has the rights to.  

What we can learn from this is, in order to cover over the downfalls in one’s public persona, you must make a statement in a space suit, that always seems to work … AND that Taylor Swift has the power to make society hate virtually anyone, as long as it’s all wrapped up in well-written song with a catchy bridge!