Nicki Minaj stole the VMAs from the ceremony’s host with a single line.
Accepting a trophy for her “Anaconda” video, Minaj thanked her pastor, and then referenced Miley Cyrus, who said in a New York Times interview recently that Minaj was “not too kind […] not very polite.”
Said Minaj: “This bitch that had a lot to say about me the other day in the press. Miley, what’s good?”
Cyrus, usually so game, seemed dumbstruck; onstage to do a planned bit, she blandly trailed off with a statement beginning, “We’re all in the industry, we all do interviews, and we all know how they manipulate…” Of course, Cyrus had hoped to be the only person onstage speaking her mind. But Minaj’s ability to be impolite took her, somehow, by surprise.
This may, of course, all be a bit: Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj’s purported “feud” over the nominations for Video of the Year ended with the pair duetting in the ceremony’s opening number, and Minaj had a smile on her face as she delivered her comments. But something about Cyrus (usually so assured) grasping for words seemed to prove this was an unusually real awards-show moment.
See the Evolution of Miley Cyrus
Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus on Oct. 8, 1994 at Pyramid Arena in Memphis.
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Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus in New York City on Feb. 9, 2006.
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Vanessa Hudgens and Miley Cyrus in Los Angeles on Apr. 30, 2006.
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Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus at the 41st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 23, 2006.
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Miley Cyrus in Westwood, Calif., on July 17, 2006.
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Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana on Nov. 2, 2008.
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Miley Cyrus in New York City on Oct. 23, 2006.
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Miley Cyrus and Ashley Tisdale on MTV's TRL in New York City on June 20, 2006.
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Miley Cyrus performs as Hannah Montana in Uniondale, N.Y., on Dec. 27, 2007.
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Miley Cyrus at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 24, 2008.
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Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton in an episode of Disney's Hannah Montana on Dec. 7, 2007.
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Miley Cyrus celebrates her 16th birthday during the 2008 American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 23, 2008.
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Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift perform onstage at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2009.
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Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus in the 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie.
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Tish, Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2009.
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Miley Cyrus at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, 2010.
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Miley Cyrus performs onstage during the 2009 Teen Choice Awards held at Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif., on Aug. 9, 2009.
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Miley Cyrus and Sheryl Crow on stage at Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City on Sept. 17, 2009.
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Miley Cyrus performs at the 21st Annual MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto on June 20, 2010.
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Miley Cyrus at the 2009 VH1 Divas in New York City on Sept. 17, 2009.
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Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber perform at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Aug. 31, 2010.
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Miley Cyrus performs on an episode of ABC's Dancing with the Stars on May 2010.
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Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth in the 2010 film The Last Song.
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Miley and Tish Cyrus at The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 13, 2011.
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Miley Cyrus at the 2012 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2012.
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Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles on Feb. 26, 2012.
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Miley Cyrus at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 20, 2012.
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Miley Cyrus at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 6, 2012.
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Miley Cyrus performs during 2012 VH1 Divas in Los Angeles on Dec. 16, 2012.
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Miley Cyrus poses with fans in London on July 18, 2013.
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Miley Cyrus at the Fashion Group International's 30th annual "Night Of Stars" awards gala in New York City on Oct. 22, 2013.
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Miley Cyrus performs on NBC's Today show on Oct. 7, 2013 in New York City.
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Miley Cyrus dances at Compound Entertainment and Malibu Red Grammy Midnight Brunch at Bagatelle/STK in Los Angeles on Feb. 9, 2013.
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Miley Cyrus attends the "PUNK: Chaos to Couture" Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 6, 2013.
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Miley Cyrus arrives at the 2013 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 19, 2013.
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Miley Cyrus attends Rachel Zoe during Fall 2013 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center in New York City on Feb. 13, 2013.
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Miley Cyrus at the SiriusXM Studios in New York City on June 27, 2013.
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Miley Cyrus at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City on Aug. 25, 2013.
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Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus perform during the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center in New York City on Aug. 25, 2013.
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Miley Cyrus performs at the 2013 American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 24, 2013.
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Miley Cyrus performs at the Time Square's New Year's Eve 2014 ball drop celebration in New York City on Dec. 31, 2013.
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Miley Cyrus at the 56th annual Grammy Awards Pre-Grammy Gala in Los Angeles on Jan. 25, 2014.
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Miley Cyrus performs during Miley Cyrus: MTV Unplugged in Los Angeles on Jan. 28, 2014.
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Miley Cyrus performs at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., on Aug. 1, 2014.
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Miley Cyrus and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips perform in Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2014.
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Miley Cyrus at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards in Inglewood, Calif., on Aug. 24, 2014.
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Miley Cyrus and My Friend's Place representative Jesse Helt at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards in Inglewood, Calif., on Aug. 24, 2014.
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Miley Cyrus walks with Jeremy Scott after a presentation of his Spring/Summer 2015 collection during New York Fashion Week on Sept. 10, 2014.
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Miley Cyrus attends the "China: Through The Looking Glass" Costume Institute Benefit Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on May 4, 2015 .
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Miley Cyrus performs onstage during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Miley Cyrus hosts the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Miley Cyrus performs on Saturday Night Live in New York City on Oct. 3, 2015.
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Honoree Miley Cyrus accepts the Vanguard Award at the Los Angeles LGBT Center 46th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards on Nov. 7, 2015 in Century City, Calif.
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Miley Cyrus on The Voice on Feb. 4, 2016.
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See Celebrities on the Red Carpet at MTV's 2015 VMAs
Host Miley Cyrus arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Demi Lovato arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Nicki Minaj arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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From left: Models Gigi Hadid, Martha Hunt, actress Hailee Steinfeld, model Cara Delevingne, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, model Serayah, Mariska Hargitay, models Lily Aldridge and Karlie Kloss attend the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Rita Ora arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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From left: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arrive at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Kylie Jenner arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Justin Bieber arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Britney Spears arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Tyga arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Nick Jonas arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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FKA twigs arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Vanessa Hudgens arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Austin Butler attends the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015, in Los Angeles.
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From left: Chrissy Teigen and John Legend arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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From left: Model Helen Lasichanh and Pharrell Williams arrive at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Kourtney Kardashian arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Kris Jenner arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Bella Thorne arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Holland Roden arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Rebel Wilson arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Emily Ratajkowski arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Kelly Osbourne arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Melissa Rivers arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Brooklyn Beckham arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Actress Brandi Cyrus, sister of host Miley Cyrus, attends the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Singer Tori Kelly arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Maria Menounos arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Designer Jeremy Scott arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Miguel attends the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on August 30, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
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From left: Blac Chyna and Amber Rose arrive at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Internet personality Baddie Winkle arrives at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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From left: Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy arrive at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Kat Graham attends the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Vance Joy attends the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on Aug. 30, 2015 in Los Angeles.
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Read next: At the VMAs, Kanye West Enlivens A Show Built Around Old Narratives
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