When MTV paired together Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke together for a performance, the network had to know they were in for what would eventually make a controversial performance. The pop stars, who had two of the biggest songs of the summer with "We Can't Stop" and "Blurred Lines" teamed up at the VMAs last night to perform a medley of their hits.
After being introduced by actress Shailene Woodley and "Saturday Night Live" member Vanessa Bayer, doing her always perfect Miley Cyrus impression and saying that she's happy to be "sticking out my tongue" and "dancing with teddy bears," the former Hannah Montana actress did just that. She emerged from a giant teddy bear while sticking out her tongue and making lewd gestures with herself.
Cyrus' own performance of "We Can't Stop" was more or less what fans could expect. She writhed around on stage, grabbed herself, stuck out her tongue, twerked and grabbed dancers' butts, much like she does in the song's music video. Interestingly enough, though, the most controversial moment from that song is when MTV censored the "molly" lyric from "We Can't Stop."
It's when Robin Thicke joined the mix that things got more controversial.
For a duet on "Blurred Lines," Cyrus stripped off her silver teddy bear onesie and wore a nude two-piece bikini, mimicking the models' outfits in the song's video. Thicke performed the song and walked around the stage like the cool cucumber that he is, while Cyrus danced around him, brushing his crotch with a foam finger, mocking sucking on his neck and grinding on him. It was eyebrow raising to say the least.
Celebrities in the audience reacted with shock at Cyrus and Thicke's antics. Drake was seen with his head down, Rihanna side-eyed the stage and a photo of Will Smith and his children reacting to "Blurred Lines" went viral. The wholesome family was simply stunned, with looks ranging from shocked to disgusted, likely reflecting America.
However, soon after the twerk-fest, Cyrus left the stage, Thicke and rappers 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar wrapped up the performance with Thicke's new single "Give It 2 U."
Watch the Miley twerk-fest below, and relive all of the VMAs' big moments at MStars' live blog here.
Get More:
2013 VMA, Artists.MTV, Music, Miley Cyrus