During the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Drake revealed he has been in love with Rihanna since a long time while presenting her with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
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The singer also took home the big prize for video of the year for Formation, facing stiff competition in this category from Kanye West for his video Famous. Beyonce arrived on the red carpet accompanied by the mothers of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant and Eric Garner, all unarmed Black men killed by police or in Martin’s case, by a racist vigilante.
Drake won best hip hop video for Hotline Bling and Calvin Harris won best male video for This is What You Came For, which his ex-girlfriend Swift co-wrote and sang backup on.
He delivered a heart-warming speech hailing the R&B beauty’s achievements, declared he had been “in love” with her since he was 22, and honoured Rihanna as a “living, breathing legend in our industry”.
The Barbadian singer (28) was presented with her Moonman trophy by Drake, her long-time collaborator and rumoured love interest. Chris is super bummed that HE wasn’t the one to give Rihanna her honor – and he might just regret the missed PDA opportunity, too! ‘All my adult life, I’ve looked up to her, even though she’s younger than me’.
Rihanna thanked her family, friends and hometown of Saint Michael, Barbados for helping her succeed in her 11-year-career. “It’s my family’s, it’s my fan’s, it’s my country’s, it’s the Caribbean as a whole, it’s women, it’s black women, so many people feel like their little piece is such a major part of this puzzle, and I have to thank you guys for supporting me over and over”. There’s less than 10 I can name in history: “Truman, Ford, Hughes, Disney, Jobs, West”.
The 15-minute set, which also featured the songs “Hold Up” and “Sorry“, closed with her headline-making track “Formation”. The video also features nude waxworks of Swift, Donald Trump, West himself and his wife Kim Kardashian West.
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The 34-year-old performed “Make Me” from her new album “Glory” but faced criticism on social media for lip-syncing on stage – and doing it badly.
