Plus Pages

Monday, May 8, 2023

'The Last of Us' Wins Big At MTV Awards


The effects of the Writers Guild of America strike were felt during the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which aired on MTV Sunday night. After Drew Barrymore dropped out of hosting the event “in solidarity with the strike,” the executive producer announced they were moving to a pre-taped show instead.

With no live show and two hours of airtime to fill, the awards show featured a significant amount of “flashback” footage, including Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, P!nk, and Mya performing "Lady Marmalade" from the Moulin Rogue! Soundtrack in 2001, NSYNC performing “It’s Gonna Be Me” in 2000, and TLC performing “Waterfalls” from the 1995 show.

Viewers took to Twitter to express their confusion about the show’s format this year. “Is this not the typical mtv movie awards lmao ? I’m so lost #MTVAwards,” one person wrote. Another commented, “This is giving 2020 everyone at home because of covid vibes #MTVAwards.”

The Last of Us was the big winner of the evening, taking home three awards in total, including Best Show. Pedro Pascal won Best Hero and Best Duo as well. He accepted Best Duo alongside Bella Ramsey.

Stranger Things followed close behind with two awards in total, including Best Kick-Ass Cast, while Joseph Quinn won the award for Breakthrough Performance. Jenna Ortega took home the golden popcorn for Best Performance in a Show for her role in Wednesday.

As for film, Scream VI had the most wins, taking home Best Movie and Best Fight. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise won Best Performance in a Movie for his role in Top Gun: Maverick. He accepted this award in the exact same way that he honored King Charles III — through a video recording of him flying a plane.

It was a big night for Jennifer Coolidge as well, for she was honored with the Comedic Genius Award and took home Most Frightened Performance for her role in The White Lotus. A montage highlighted her numerous roles over the years, including in Best in Show, Legally Blonde, and American Pie.

Many made sure to mention the WGA strike in their acceptance speeches, including Coolidge, Quinn, and Pascal.

Barrymore reprised her role as Josie Keller from Never Been Kissed in a pre-taped segment. She also played Barbie’s “super supportive sister” Skipper, who was inserted into the trailer for the new movie. The Drew Barrymore Show host took home the golden popcorn for Best Host as well.

See the full list of winners below:



  • Best Movie: Scream VI
  • Best Show: The Last of Us
  • Best Performance in a Movie: Tom Cruise — Top Gun: Maverick
  • Best Performance in a Show: Jenna Ortega — Wednesday
  • Best Hero: Pedro Pascal — The Last of Us
  • Best Villain: Elizabeth Olsen — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
  • Best Kiss: Madison Bailey + Rudy Pankow — Outer Banks
  • Best Comedic Performance: Adam Sandler — Murder Mystery 2
  • Breakthrough Performance: Joseph Quinn — Stranger Things
  • Best Fight: Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) vs. Ghostface — Scream VI
  • Most Frightened Performance: Jennifer Coolidge — The White Lotus
  • Best Duo: Pedro Pascal + Bella Ramsey — The Last of Us
  • Best Kick-Ass Cast: Stranger Things
  • Best Song: Taylor Swift — “Carolina” (Where the Crawdads Sing)
  • Best Docu-Reality Series: The Kardashians
  • Best Competition Series
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars
  • Best Host: Drew Barrymore – The Drew Barrymore Show
  • Best Reality Onscreen Team: Ariana Madix, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay, LaLa Kent — Vanderpump Rules
  • Best Music Documentary: Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me
  • Best Musical Moment: Purple Hearts — “Come Back Home”

No comments:

Post a Comment