Leave it to comedian Kevin Hart to start off the MTV Video Music Awards with a controversial bang.
As the host of the awards show, Hart was led into the Staples Center by a team of midgets. They were apparently his Secret Service detail, as the announcer introduced him as the “future president of the United States.”
It was clearly a reference to the acceptance speech by President Obama at the Democratic National Convention that was slated to be delivered after the awards show ends at 10 p.m.
Once Hart got on the stage and launched into his opening monologue, it was clear he was intent on stirring up trouble. He went in right away at Chris Brown and Drake and their infamous brawl back in June over Rihanna—who had just opened the show with a stirring performance that featured her wading deep into the crowd without security. Hart said the brawl was started because of a mistake—being from Canada, Drake was trying to recycle his bottle and tossed it toward the recycling bin that happened to be near Brown, Hart said. But Brown didn’t see the bottle because he was looking down and dancing, Hart said, as he did a couple of Brown-esque dance moves.
He said Drake tried to call out to Brown and tell him he was looking for a “bin”—but Chris misheard him and thought he said “bitch.”
“Did you call me a bitch?” Hart said, imitating Brown.
So that’s how it all began, Hart said.
The camera cut to Drake, who presented a fake smile—but didn’t really look very amused.
“Nip it in the bud now, guys, I’m tired of it!” Hart said.
For a second, viewers could be mistaken if they thought Brown—who was nowhere in sight—was going to rush toward Drake and embrace him. But alas, it didn’t happen.
So Hart moved on to his next victim—Frank Ocean.
When Drake went onstage later to accept his award for Best Hip Hop Video, the MTV director couldn’t help but cut to Rihanna for a reaction shot.
