Tributes and tears at video awards
NEW YORK: Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell, rock stars who killed themselves earlier this year, were remembered at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards.
Oscar winner Jared Leto, frontman of rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, said he toured with Bennington and Cornell, and spoke passionately yesterday about his friendship with Bennington, who rose to fame as the lead singer of Linkin Park.
“I see his face, which was always smiling ... I think about how kindly he treated me, my brother, Tomo, our band... I think about his band, who were really his brothers and I remember his voice,” Leto said at the Forum in Inglewood, California. “That voice will live forever.”
Before announcing a video of Linkin Park performing at the 2010 VMAs, Leto told those who might be struggling: “Hear me now, you are not alone. There is always a way forward. Reach out. Share your thoughts. Do not give up.”
Cornell and Bennington were close friends, and Bennington was the godfather to Chris Cornell’s 11-year-old son. Cornell hanged himself in May and Bennington hanged him- self in July.
It was a touching moment on a night dominated by Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar.
Swift debuted the eye-popping music video for Look What You Made Me Do, which featured her dressed like a zombie in one scene and surrounded by snakes in another.
Paris Jackson also turned heads when she spoke about the recent rally in Charlottes- ville, Virginia.
“We must show these Nazi white supremacist jerks in Charlottesville, and all over the country, that as a nation with liberty as our slogan, we have zero tolerance for their violence and their hatred and their discrimination. We must resist,” Michael Jackson’s daughter said before presenting the best pop video award to Fifth Harmony.
Fifth Harmony, who lost a group member last year, won the prize for their hit, Down, featuring rapper Gucci Mane. Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane of the group were in tears as they accepted the award alongside Normani Kordei and Lauren Jauregui.
“This is honestly so unreal. Thank you to God and thank you to our families,” Jane said. – ANA-AP