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Pretty much all everyone talks about when they talk about the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards is the moment between Kanye West and Taylor Swift. And yes, that is memorable. It kicked off a decade-long saga between the stars and was the seed from which reputation bloomed. However, I'm here to exact justice for the little guys — the smaller but, in hindsight, even more bonkers moments that went down during the very same show. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say the 2009 VMAs was peak VMAs. 2019 has some big shoes to fill.
To root you in the time period, it's important to remember that Russell Brand was hosting that year, and the show itself was a tribute to...Michael Jackson (yikes). It was also a year when Lady Gaga's Lady-Gaga-ness was in full swing (not quite Peak Meat Dress, but she did start bleeding during one of her performances). She makes up three of the major not-Taylor-Swift moments included in this slideshow.
A lot of these moments weren't crazy at the time, but have become wilder looking back on them ten years later. The outfits! The pairings! The Muppets! However, that's just another testament to the stand-out nature of this particular year at the VMAs that has managed to age like a fine wine. Or, to stay true to the time period, a fine Four Loko.
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