All the times the VMAs disrespected Aretha Franklin
Come on, y’all.
August 21, 2018
Aretha Franklin, the queen of soul and force whose music and spirit touched the lives of many, passed away last week. One would assume that on one of the bigger nights for mainstream music, the MTV VMAs would take the time and effort to pay its respects to the star in a meaningful way.
ADVERTISEMENT
Instead, what viewers got were a series of seemingly half-assed attempts at "paying tribute" to one of the most important artists of our time. Below are the several instances during which the VMAs were disrespectful to Franklin's legacy.
When 45 minutes into the VMAs, there still was no mention of Aretha Franklin
When three seconds of "Respect" by Aretha Franklin was played to intro Jimmy Fallon
When Madonna paid tribute to Aretha Franklin by talking about herself
See: this post.
ADVERTISEMENT
When "Respect" played over the end credits and highlight reel of the show
When the VMAs briefly showed a photo of Franklin at the absolute end of the program
After all of the credits rolled.
ADVERTISEMENT