--- ---  # Cardi B Made Funny Moves Onstage at the 2018 MTV VMAs  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 21, 2018 1:13 AM UTC  Cardi B speaks onstage during the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on August 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for MTV) Cardi B speaks onstage during the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on August 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for MTV)Michael Loccisano—Getty Images for MTV  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Aug 21, 2018 1:13 AM UTC [Cardi B](http://time.com/5320816/bet-awards-2018-winners/) took the stage at the [2018 MTV Video Music Awards](http://time.com/5340179/mtv-vmas-2018-nominees/) for her first big moment since giving birth to her daughter Kulture in July with a joke. The “Bartier Cardi” rapper opened the show clutching a baby-shaped blanket, only to reveal a moon man award and introduce Shawn Mendes “In My Blood.” It was the ultimate fakeout for those waiting to see the prodigal child. In so doing, she gave us an unforgettable image of the evening. After [dropping out](https://twitter.com/iamcardib/status/1022645907928625153) of the fall leg of Bruno Mars’s 24K Magic World Tour to give herself more time to “recover mentally and physically,” Cardi announced on [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmg1DZIhgcF/?taken-by=iamcardib) that she would return to the stage for one night at this year’s VMAs. Cardi B Stole the Show at the 2018 VMAs ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5369557/cardi-b-vmas/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5369557/cardi-b-vmas/"},"headline":"Cardi B Made Funny Moves Onstage at the 2018 MTV VMAs","datePublished":"2018-08-21T01:13:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:54:22.486Z","description":"She took the stage at the VMAs with a baby blanket","url":"https://time.com/5369557/cardi-b-vmas/","keywords":["Newsfeed","awards","Cardi B"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65074545512ab8c7/6989383086f68e8f1d6e9f1d/cardibvmas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65074545512ab8c7/6989383086f68e8f1d6e9f1d/cardibvmas.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2018 MTV Video Music Awards - Show","caption":"Cardi B had a prank at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards","creditText":"Michael Loccisano—Getty Images for MTV","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5369557/cardi-b-vmas/","name":"Cardi B Made Funny Moves Onstage at the 2018 MTV VMAs"}}]}] ```