Kanye West isn’t the only entertainer that made headlines during the 2009 MTV VMAs. Lil Mama also caused a bit of controversy when she hopped up on stage at the end of Jay Z’s collaboration with Alicia Keyes on Empire State of Mind at the end of the night.
The move didn’t garner nearly as many headlines for Lil Mama but the experience definitely made its mark on the Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta star, who was accused of copping an attitude after Da Brat asked about the incident in the studio.
When MC Lyte asked Lil Mama if that’s why she was upset on the WeTV series, she said, “I don’t think that it’s fair for me to have to keep answering the same question over and over again.”
“They’re waiting for you to feel remorseful about it,” MC Lyte responded.
That left Lil Mama in shock as she doesn’t seem to understand why everyone is still so bothered. After all, she didn’t mean any disrespect when she hopped up on the stage at the MTV awards show. Not to mention, the incident happened nearly a decade ago now.
In case you missed Lil Mama’s shocking moment at the MTV VMAs, here’s what happened:
where lil mama at y'all ???#VMAs pic.twitter.com/t9BhpcBugg
— D?? (@HisNameIsD) August 29, 2016
It was the last performance of the night and Jay Z was set to perform his smash hit Empire State of Mind with Alicia Keys. Apparently, the song made Lil Mama feel some type of way because as they were singing, she started getting inspired.
Being a New Yorker herself, Lil Mama felt a rush and decided to get up on stage with Jay Z and Alicia Keys at the end of the song to show her support as a fellow New Yorker and because she was REALLY feeling the song.
“I admire them and look up to them as role models. Empire State of Mind had my emotions running high. In that moment I came up on stage to celebrate my two icons singing about NY,” Lil Mama explained.
It turns out, Jay Z didn’t appreciate Lil Mama crashing the stage. At all. He called her pop up “outta line” after explaining how much planning went into the performance.