Names and faces
Kendrick Lamar was the king of the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, winning six awards on a night full of emotional performances, political moments and an eye-popping Taylor Swift music video. Lamar’s “Humble” won for video of the year, best hip-hop video, direction, cinematography, art direction and visual effects on Sunday at the show in Inglewood, Calif. He gave a performance of “Humble” and “DNA,” backed by ninjas dancing near fire. Lamar’s performance was followed by the premiere of Swift’s video for “Look What You Made Me Do,” which featured the singer dressed like a zombie in one scene and surrounded by snakes in another. But the show, hosted by Katy Perry with performances by Miley Cyrus and Ed Sheeran, was tamer than in most years. The rapper Logic performed his song “1-800273-8255,” named after the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. He was joined onstage by suicide-attempt survivors as well as singers Alessia Cara and Khalid. The night also featured moments focused on the Aug. 12 rally in Charlottesville, Va., that turned violent after white nationalists opposed to the city’s plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee clashed with counterprotesters. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a car plowed into a crowd. The Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV, a descendent of Robert E. Lee, said that “as a pastor, it is my duty to speak out against racism, America’s original sin.” Heyer’s mother then took the stage, telling the audience: “Only 15 days my ago, my daughter Heather was killed as she protested racism. I miss her, but I know she’s here tonight.”
Kevin Hart made a donation to flood-relief efforts in Houston, and he wants some of his famous friends to do the same. The comedian announced a $25,000 donation to the American Red Cross for victims of Tropical Storm Harvey. In an Instagram video posted Sunday, Hart said he was starting a celebrity challenge. Beyonce, Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jerry Seinfeld are among the stars he called on to make their own pledges. “This is a serious matter,” Hart said in the video. “I think the people are in bad shape and they need help. I’m going to lead the charge and step it up in this way.” Also Sunday, country star Chris Young announced on Twitter that he has started an online fundraiser for the Red Cross and donated $100,000 to it. The campaign had taken in an additional $50,000 by midday Monday.