You kind of had to be there. Literally. Because if you were watching the VMAs red carpet broadcast on MTV, you would've missed the action entirely.
While artists gave pre-show interviews and performed on camera, drama unfolded off-camera: A clean water protester was reportedly arrested after coming down from a traffic light pole.
The 2019 VMAs are taking place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, a city currently embroiled in a water crisis. After finding dangerously high levels of lead in city water, residents of 15,000 affected homes have been told to use bottled water for drinking and cooking. Capitalising on the high visibility of the VMAs, protesters surrounded the event.
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Someone got arrested at #vmas #mtvvmas @mtv https://t.co/7YC93G2eau
— Laura (@fashion7thave) August 26, 2019
The NowThis Livestream caught the entire ordeal on camera. Many Twitter users had commentary.
SOMEONE JUST GOT ARRESTED #VMAs
— nick price (@nickprice91) August 26, 2019
EVEN ARAB TWITTER IS TALKING ABOUT THE ARREST WE? pic.twitter.com/BWsipKd8KQ
— ??????//VMAS DAY!!! (@m3rcyruin) August 26, 2019
Clean Water protestor comes down off of traffic light pole and is arrested immediately. #newjersey #nj #cleanwater #protest #mtv #vmas #vma #vmas2019 https://t.co/LRzvldIYey
— SYDiR: Big City Dreamer (@partofsydir) August 26, 2019
The protest strategically coincided with the award show red carpet. Police on horseback tried, and failed, to stop protesters from getting through.
The #VMAs are in Newark, NJ this year. The same location as another #WaterCrisis like #FlintWaterCrisis. #NewarkWaterCrisis so a protest was organized to greet the awards show. The police came with horses as the protest took the streets. #WaterIsLife pic.twitter.com/RMbA4jWKoh
— Tardigrade (@StopMotionsolo) August 26, 2019
The situation in Newark is being compared to the Flint water crisis, where residents were affected by lead contamination. Both crises predominantly affect low income communities.