Empowered women dominate MTV video awards

What I loved about this year’s MTV Video Music Awards was the show was all about empowered women.

From Nicki Minaj’s defiant twerking to Taylor Swift’s male entourage to Beyoncé singing with the word “FEMINIST” emblazoned behind her, empowered women stole the show Sunday night.

Their message was clear, we’re taking over and we’re not sorry.

The most touching moment of the night was arguably when Beyoncé’s husband Jay Z and their daughter Blue Ivy went onstage to present her with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. The award is the VMA’s equivalent of a lifetime achievement award.

Jay Z called his wife the “greatest living entertainer” and Beyoncé’s daughter clapped her hands and appeared to say, “Yay, Mommy.”

If there’s trouble in paradise between Beyoncé and Jay Z, they certainly didn’t show it. It was Blue Ivy’s first appearance on TV, which was ironic because it was on the show back in 2011 that Beyoncé announced her pregnancy to the world.

Another poignant moment from the show was when Miley Cyrus took home video of the year for “Wrecking Ball” and let a young homeless man named Jessie accept the award on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth in the United States.

Jessie claimed that Los Angeles has the largest population of homeless youth in America and urged people to go to Cyrus’ Facebook page to raise awareness and funds to end youth homelessness.

Last year Cyrus’ controversial performance with Robin Thicke stole the show, and I give her credit for finding another way to stay in the limelight while advocating a cause she believes in.

Say what you want about Cyrus’ twerking and tongue-wagging, she sure knows how to be a class act (and cry on cue) when the occasion calls for it.

The night also featured a serious social message. Rapper-actor Common held a moment of silence for Michael Brown, the unarmed 18-year-old who was fatally shot by a police officer on Aug. 9, before he presented the award for best hip-hop video.

Later, a 15-second spot aired alluding to the shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, urging viewers to take action to eliminate bias.

Other notable moments: Nicki Minaj suffered a wardrobe malfunction during the opening of the show while performing “Bang Bang” with Ariana Grande and Jessie J. Apparently, she ran out of time changing costumes and had to hold the front of her dress together. I’ll say this, she didn’t miss a beat.

Katy Perry won best female video for “Dark Horse” with Juicy J, but it was her outfit that everyone was talking about. Perry showed up to the awards with Riff Raff, imitating an extremely iconic moment in red carpet history: Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s matching denim outfits from the 2001 American Music Awards.

Perry said this about her wardrobe choice on Twitter, “I must admit my outfit is a result of my love for nostalgia and my tumblr addiction.” Perry admitted that she was going for the “best worst dressed.” I’d say she accomplished that goal.

Overall the VMAs were pretty tame compared to years past, but it was inspiring to see women rule the night. The ladies even dominated by winning 63 percent of the awards.