Madonna recalls 1984 VMAs mishap after Artist of the Year win: ‘My career was over’

Madonna took home Artist of the Year at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, but her acceptance speech looked back at a moment from the very first VMAs in 1984, when a fallen stiletto sent her performance of ‘Like a Virgin’ unexpectedly off script.

Madonna returned to the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, September 27, to accept the Artist of the Year honour, more than 40 years after she first appeared at the ceremony. The singer won the category ahead of Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Morgan Wallen, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift.

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While accepting the award, Madonna reflected on her long history with the VMAs and recalled the wardrobe mishap that became one of the most talked-about moments of her 1984 performance.

Madonna recalls ‘Like a Virgin’ wardrobe mishap

Madonna began her speech with a joke before taking the audience back to the inaugural MTV VMAs.

“Some of you were probably not born … but I performed at the first MTV awards in 1984,” she said.

During her performance of ‘Like a Virgin’, Madonna lost one of her stilettos. She attempted to turn the accident into part of the choreography, diving onto the stage in an effort to make the moment appear intentional.

“I had a little problem with my shoes, and one of my stilettos fell off. I dove onto the stage to try to make myself look cute and sexy like I meant to do it,” she recalled.

The improvised move, however, came with another wardrobe malfunction.

“My dress went up, my butt cheek was hanging out — and those days, butt cheeks were not hanging out,” Madonna joked.

The singer said her manager at the time feared the incident would have serious consequences for her career.

“He told me my career was over,” she recalled.

More than four decades later, Madonna found herself back on the same awards stage, this time accepting one of the ceremony’s biggest honours.

Madonna talks about making ‘Confessions II’

Madonna also used her acceptance speech to reflect on the period leading up to her latest music.

The singer said she had spent the last year and a half “finding myself, believing in myself and really making the music that I wanted to make”.

She also acknowledged producer Stuart Price, who worked with her on both ‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’ and its follow-up, ‘Confessions II’.

“To me, that really is the definition of being an artist,” Madonna said, encouraging those watching to continue finding and believing in themselves.

Madonna reveals she DMed Sabrina Carpenter

The evening also brought Madonna and Sabrina Carpenter together on stage after their collaboration ‘Bring Your Love’ won Best Collaboration.

Madonna revealed that she eventually contacted Carpenter herself after waiting five days for a response about the proposed collaboration.

“Everybody who knows me knows how impatient I am,” she said.

After five days without hearing whether Carpenter wanted to record the song with her, Madonna said she decided to send the singer a direct message.

“And when five days passed and I still didn’t get connected with Sabrina and didn’t hear back from her about whether she wanted to do a song with me, five days I DM’d her,” Madonna recalled.

The direct approach worked, with the pair eventually heading into the studio together.

“It was fabulous,” Madonna said.

Madonna praises Sabrina’s professionalism

Madonna also had plenty of praise for Carpenter, particularly her approach to work.

“I love working with you because you are so professional, and in this day and age, it’s really hard to find professional people to work with,” she said.

She then joked about their contrasting approaches to timekeeping.

“When I show up late, she shows up early. So, we — it works out,” Madonna said.

The singer also revealed that she and Carpenter share an old-school approach to writing lyrics, saying they still put their words down on paper.

“She has OCD and so do I. We write our lyrics down on pieces of paper like they did in the 1800s,” Madonna joked.

Carpenter later clarified that her team does respond to messages, before adding that she is even quicker to respond herself and suggesting that contacting her directly is the fastest option.

What is Madonna’s ‘Bring Your Love’ about?

Madonna also offered an explanation of ‘Bring Your Love’, suggesting that the song is not quite the straightforward love song its title might suggest.

“And if you think it’s a love song, you are wrong,” she said.

According to Madonna, the track is instead about “people who think they know you better than you know yourself”.

The 2026 VMAs marked another milestone in Madonna’s long relationship with the ceremony. She entered the event as its leading nominee with 11 nominations and also returned to perform at the VMAs for the first time in 23 years.