Saweetie called out social media users after a clip of her struggling to read the prompter at the VMAs went viral on Tuesday night.
The California native co-hosted the live pre-show with MTV News correspondent Dometi Pongo. She turned heads in a “Swarovski rivoli crystals“-covered pink dress by fashion house Area. The highlight of her outfit was the two huge bones used to hold it together.
During one of their segments, there was a moment of silence due to Saweetie not realizing she was next up to read the teleprompter. In the video circulating on the internet, her partner for the night complimented her and she responded, “I’m good, how are you doing?” He then said he was “feeling excellent…better now.” After she played with her long ponytail, the 30-year-old replied with “I know that’s right,” a known saying of hers before an awkward pause occurred.
This moment caused her co-host to look her way. That’s when she realized it was her turn to speak. “Oh, I am so excited for tonight too, and I can’t wait to see the fashion and some of my friends,” she said.
Saweetie forgot that she was there to work. 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/ST9snSy2HY
— XXL Magazine (@XXL) September 12, 2023
The slip-up with Pongo wasn’t the only mistake of the night. The Pretty B**ch Music artist also got tongue-tied when she struggled to read lines during a send-off for a commercial break.
saweetie could not read that teleprompter i'm crying😭 #VMAs pic.twitter.com/NPb1wytFlR
— 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆🫧💚 (@beyoncegarden) September 12, 2023
As the show went on, this became one of the most talked about topics of the night. Unable to ignore the chatter, the “Birthday” rapper acknowledged her fumble before introducing K-Pop group The Stray Kids.
“Hey what’s up, y’all. It’s me again, and y’all better stop making my lil’ stutter video go viral, I see what you’re doing. Anyways, let’s try it again,” Saweetie said to the camera.
In response, fans on Instagram made jokes about her being just a “pretty” face while others supported her because reading off a teleprompter isn’t easy.
“Some people are supposed to be pretty and thats it. Nothing more. She’s some people lol,” one person wrote.
“Teleprompter reading is a skill it takes host years to master that’s why news, anchors and game show host get paid so much,” another commented.
“As a journalist myself, using a teleprompter is not easy. It takes a lot of practice, starting with the script on paper, to gain a sense of it and to be able to catch up with the teleprompter if you make a mistake. Kuddos to her for accepting the challenge of doing live tv 👏👏👏,” a third person agreed.