MTV's annual Video Music Awards show wasn’t short of political moments on Sunday night, ranging from general statements about fighting racism and injustices, to swipes at President Donald Trump, to choreographed calls to action.
Here are six VMA political moments.
1. Gen. Robert E. Lee descendent preaches on racism. Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV, who said he was related to the Confederate general, called racism "America's original sin" and called on "all of us with privilege and power to answer God's call to confront racism and white supremacy head-on," CNN said. He then introduced Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, the woman killed while marching in Charlottesville, Virginia.
2. "Best Fight Against the System" is front and center. With Lee, Heather Bro then honored all six nominees winners of a new MTV VMA category for fighting “The Man,” which was added while separate male and female awards in each category were eliminated.
Bro, who said her daughter "never marched along" and was joined by people of all races and backgrounds, took her time on stage, The Associated Press said, and announced the Heather Heyer Foundation, a nonprofit organization that will provide scholarships "to help more people join Heather's fight against hatred."
3. Paris Jackson mocks Trump. While not mentioning his name, the daughter of late superstar Michael Jackson impersonated Trump in a call for unity, Time magazine said. "If we were to stand up all united as one, our impact, it would be 'yuge. It would be 'yuge. Believe me, 'yuge. And that's not fake news," she said in her role as a celebrity presenter.
“Let's leave here tonight remembering that we must show these Nazi, white supremacist jerks in Charlottesville and all over the country that as a nation with 'liberty' as our slogan, we have zero tolerance for their violence, their hatred and their discrimination,” said CNN. “We must resist."
4. Katy Perry longs for Hillary. The VMA host, who went all-in for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in last year's election, used some self-deprecating humor about her political support, saying, "When Hillary Clinton becomes president, I promise to put out a timeless record that everybody loves," per Time.
5. Singer Cardi B supports Colin Kaepernick. The singer joined other supporters of the former NFL quarterback who believe he hasn’t been able to find a team this year because he kneeled during the national anthem last year to protest police brutality, said Time.
"Colin Kaepernick, as long as you kneel with us, we gonna be standing for you baby,"she said.
6. Six transgender soldiers walked the VMA carpet. They came to "tell our stories and help people to realize that trans people are serving in the military just like everyone else," said Jennifer Peace, an Army captain. "The only thing we're asking for is to be treated just like everyone else in the military and be discriminated against only based on our performance."
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