9 of the biggest celebrity fashion faux pas in MTV Video Music Awards red carpet history

In 1984, Madonna performed "Like A Virgin" live for the first time at the very first VMA awards and unknowingly flashed the audience, causing controversy. According to Billboard, Madonna wanted a white Bengal tiger on stage during her performance but instead emerged from a 17-foot wedding cake.

The publication reported that as Madonna descended the cake, one of her heels fell off and when she tried to retrieve it she suffered a wardrobe malfunction.

"So I thought, 'Well, I'll just pretend I meant to do this,' and I dove on the floor and I rolled around," she said. "And, as I reached for the shoe, the dress went up. And the underpants were showing."

Arriving at the 2009 VMAs, Shakira and Pink were spotted in the same short black leather dress with sequins and chains. According to HuffPost, the little black dresses were designed by Balmain.

The singers took the faux pas lightly as they laughed and posed for pictures together. HuffPost added that Pink later changed into a purple, white, and black asymmetrical onesie with pink pasties.

Lady Gaga made a lasting impact at the 2010 MTV VMAs while wearing a dress fashioned from meat. According to British Vogue, the unique look was brought together by stylist Nicola Formichetti and designer Franc Fernandez and was fashioned from flank steak.

Animal rights activists criticized the meat dress, but Gaga said that it was a political statement. Insider previously reported that Gaga wore the dress in solidarity with the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy repeal, which President Barack Obama signed in 2011 to allow gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans to openly serve in the armed forces.

"We decided to do the meat dress because I thought to myself, 'If you are willing to die for your country, what does it matter how you identify?'" she told British Vogue.

In 2015, Miley Cyrus was repeatedly criticized for wearing her hair in dreadlocks, Refinery29 reported, with many deeming it to be an appropriation of a Black hairstyle.

The publication added that actress Amandla Stenberg explained the term well: "Appropriation occurs when a style leads to racist generalizations or stereotypes where it originated, but is deemed as high fashion, cool, or funny when the privileged take it for themselves."

Cyrus attended the VMAs that year in a silver leather diamanté, barely-there bodysuit, sporting a ponytail made of blonde dreadlocks. This perpetuated the criticism she had already received.

Ansel Elgort was in attendance at the 2016 VMA event in a head-to-toe black look that felt inspired by "emo" culture. The outfit consisted of a black-and-red shirt beneath a black double-breasted jacket and was from the Dior Homme spring/summer 2017 collection, according to Cosmopolitan.

He paired this with black pants with colorful threads running across them and black patent boots with red laces. Elgort's accessories included black leather fingerless gloves with studs on them and chains safety pinned to his jacket. The outfit was not well received, with Cosmopolitan implying that the look was outdated.

Lenny Kravitz looked like he had stepped straight out of the '80s at the 2018 VMAs. He posed for pictures on the red carpet in a gold chainmail top, tight blue suede kick flare trousers, and snakeskin boots. He finished the look with a spiky silver necklace and aviator sunglasses.

Nicki Minaj appeared onstage at the 2014 VMAs to perform "Bang Bang" with Jessie J and Ariana Grande. As she walked out to rap her verse on the song, her little black dress split down the middle, and she was seen holding it together for the performance.

Speaking to Ellen DeGeneres about the incident, Minaj said she changed her outfit last minute to match Jessie J and Grande, but it would not zip up, MTV News reported at the time.

"I didn't have any underwear on – no underwear, no bra – 'cause I had just taken off the 'Anaconda' outfit, so I was butt-ass naked," she told DeGeneres.

At the 2019 awards, Normani performed while wearing a zipped purple velour crop hoodie with crystals on it, a matching skirt, and white sneakers. Insider's Olivia Singh previously reported that the musician was styled by Kollin Carter and the costume was designed by Bryan Hearns.

Normani was due to change looks during the performance and one of her dancers tried to help her reveal the purple bralette and shorts underneath but the delay caused a prolonged awkward moment.

At the 2021 VMAs, Doja Cat wore six outfits throughout the event, one of which was a Thom Browne dress from the designer's Spring 2018 collection, according to Essence Magazine.

The multi-colored structured dress had puff sleeves and extended over her head, leading the performer to declare onstage: "I look like a worm. That's dope."

According to Elle, the unusual look resulted in social media users turning Doja Cat into creative memes.