And the trophy for the most awkward way to kick off an award show goes to… Zachary Levi!
The 38-year-old Shazam star and host of the 2019 MTV Movie and TV Awards caused quite the stir when he kicked off Monday night’s show with a very shady joke about Ray J and Kim Kardashian West‘s infamous 2007 sex tape.
Yep, you read that correctly! Over ten years later, people are still going there.
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It all started with Levi’s opening monologue, where the first time emcee tried his best to warm up the star-studded crowd for the riveting night of performances ahead. Like most award show hosts, Zachary gave a few celebrity shoutouts, including one to Bird Box star Sandra Bullock.
The star set up his joke by pointing out that America’s sweetheart, referring to Bullock, was “in the house.” Innocent comment, right?
But then, the camera pivoted to to the Love and Hip-Hop star and his wife, Princess Love, as Levi delivered his supposedly well-thought out punchline.
The host remarked:
“And, of course, America’s other sweetheart Ray J, from Love & Hip Hop, is here. Although I’m sure some of you are more familiar with his work as a cameraman.”
Wait…did he just….yeah. Yeah, he did.
The 34-year-old reality star was NOT feeling the comedic quip about her husband at all, as she immediately flipped the bird — on both hands! — to the camera.
See the awkward moment play out in a fan reposted video on Twitter (below):
#MTVMovieAwards why he do that to Ray J ???????? pic.twitter.com/XFcYf9U6vt
— Eric ???????? (@eperez12344) June 18, 2019
Princess Love got her message across loud and clear, y’all! See (below):
Did not have to shade Ray J like that ????????
Princess Love #MTVAwards pic.twitter.com/xHKLlgDPMt
— SugarPlum Fairy (@BossSugarPlum) June 18, 2019
In his best attempt to read the room and calm things down, Levi followed up his joke by saying:
“I had to. I’m sorry. It was collectively a great idea.”
But was it really a “great” idea, though? We’re sorry, but isn’t that joke is a bit tired and dated by now?
It’s been 12 years (!!!) since the infamous tape leaked and became the topic of water-cooler conversation everywhere. It’s hardly front-page news or remotely relevant anymore, to say the least.
And if we’re keeping it 100 percent real here, most of MTV’s younger audience probably didn’t even get the reference. And judging by the boos and groans from the crowd in response, the older audience got the joke — and they clearly didn’t care for it either.
We really don’t get the idea behind the stale joke at all, honestly. Not a good look!
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Let’s also acknowledge how the beauty business mogul has worked tirelessly to separate herself from her ex, their sexy visuals and all of the negative attention that came with it. Sure, one could argue it put her on the map to begin with.
But KKW has already addressed the tape many times before, including on an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians where she commented on her state-of-mind that night.
Confirming she was high on ecstasy while it all went down, she told her sisters:
“Absolutely. Everyone knows it. My jaw was shaking. I definitely went through a wild phase.”
And that “wild phase” seems to be well behind her, for the most part!
As we’ve told you, Kanye West‘s wife has been all about her family, her brand, and using her massive platform for the greater good by advocating for comprehensive prison reform in the U.S. lately.
So maybe we should all focus on that instead of the past, no?
What do YOU guys think about the sex tape joke? Funny and perfectly shady, or completely out of line?
Sound off in the comments below!
[Image via Nicky Nelson/FayesVision/WENN]
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