Cardi B Defends Tyla Amid VMAs Trophy Controversy, Emphasizes “How F**kin’ Heavy Those Awards Are”

“She didn’t even ask Halle to hold the award! She asked Lil Nas X, a man, to hold it.”

September 16, 2024 2:58pm

Thaddaeus McAdams/Getty Images; Doug Peters/PA Images via Getty Images

Last week, the 2024 MTV VMAs celebrated the excellence of music artists from all over the globe, and Tyla‘s appearance has garnered some controversy since then. Cardi B has caught wind of the comments being made about the South African star and jumped to her defense.

The moment that has everyone talking went down as Tyla stepped on stage to accept her win for Best Afrobeats Video. She handed her trophy to Lil Nas X to hold while she gave her acceptance speech, saying, “You guys know me and holding awards, I’m not strong enough. Please, Please.” Halle Bailey and the “Old Town Road” artist were the two who presented the award.

People reacted to the viral moment and said it was “rude” of Tyla to expect someone else to hold her award for her. However, the Bronx rapper unloaded her thoughts during a recent X Spaces session and provided more context about what those moments are truly like in person.

“You gotta worry about motherf**kin’ doing a speech, looking good while you’re carrying a motherf**king’ 10-pound f**kin’ [award] in your motherf**kin’ hand. So I just don’t think you understand how f**king heavy those f**kin’ awards are,” the new mom of three stated.

Cardi also shared her perspective about Tyla’s stature, reasoning that holding the trophy really might have been “too heavy” for someone her size.

“Also I met Tyla in person. I’m 5’3″, so I’m already short, and she’s shorter than me,” the Invasion Of Privacy rapper continued. “No lie, she’s shaped really beautifully, but she’s very very skinny. Skinny like, Mariah-type skinny. She has to weigh like 109 pounds. So imagine you’re 109 pounds and you gotta carry a 10 f**king award with heels. She literally asked Lil Nas X. Y’all are trying to make this into an, ‘Oh, how rude is she? She asked another female artist to hold her award like she’s the help.’ I love Halle but she didn’t even ask Halle to hold the award! She asked Lil Nas X, a man, to hold it.”

Cardi’s rant ended with her perception of Caribbean and African women and their personalities. “The thing about her, too, that y’all think she acts ‘uppity,’ let me tell y’all something,” she added, before bringing up her older sister “Nicky Nicky.” “A lot of Caribbean people and a lot of African people, especially girls… My sister has always been overly confident… over jumpy, over smiley.” Listen to the Spaces session below.

Right after the star-studded event, both Tyla and Halle addressed the moment head-on. “Y’all make everything weird… I was not asking my girl Halle… We just girls. STFU I WON A VMAAAA,” Tyla tweeted. The Little Mermaid star agreed and swiftly replied, “exactly ♥️♥️love u babes congrats.”

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