MTV’s Video Music Awards, broadcast Sunday night from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, drew heavy criticism from viewers after the network delayed the ceremony to air the Cowboys-Ravens NFL game instead of the show’s opening performance.
The official VMAs account on X told fans, “Hold tight, the 2026 #VMAs will take off after the football game finishes. Live, coming up on CBS & streaming on Paramount+!” The award show’s live stream did not begin until nearly 8:00 p.m. — about 20 minutes behind schedule — by which point the opening act had already finished and the first award had been handed out.
Viewers reacted with frustration on social media. One user wrote, “I’m f***ing pissed Madonna is on stage right now and we’re watching f***ing football!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT TF HAS THIS WORLD COME TO!!!!!!!!!! GENUINELY!!!!!” Another said the performance was unwatchable because of technical issues: “You couldn’t even see the opening performance because it was glitching the entire time.”
A third viewer directed anger at organizers: “You guys are a bunch of sick f***s. This will be the last VMAs because you f***ing killed them.”
The broadcast trouble compounded broader criticism of the show itself. Numerous X users called for MTV to cancel future VMAs ceremonies altogether. One post that garnered more than 26,000 likes and 1.8 million views read, “Getting the feeling this might be the last VMAs.”
Others echoed the sentiment. “We say this every single year,” one user wrote, adding, “Honestly just pull the plug.” Another said, “There’s no shame in bowing out gracefully. Gotta read the room.”
“The VMAs have felt like a funeral for awhile now. It had its time in the sun, but those days are sadly over and what it’s become doesn’t work.”
One critic described the ceremony as “a room full of people in the same industry standing around applauding each other, telling everybody how amazing they are, while half of them probably don’t even like each other,” adding, “If this is what award shows have become, just hand everybody a mirror and save us three hours.”
Several major artists — including Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Olivia Rodrigo, and Zara Larsson — reportedly did not attend. Madonna, who performed as part of a comeback appearance, drew further criticism for what viewers called an “utterly unfocused” set. At one point she appeared to forget which award she was presenting, then told the audience she was trying to pull something out of her “ass” that had been stuck there all night, prompting awkward laughter from the crowd.
Snoop Dogg hosted the ceremony at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
