MTV Movie & TV Awards: Political jabs, gender-neutrality on high

Los Angeles, May 8 (IANS) A "Beauty and the Beast" homage, gender-neutral acting awards and political jabs by stars while receiving acceptance awards were among the most memorable moments at MTV Movie & TV Awards that took place on Sunday night.

With the added categories to accommodate talent in both the big and small screen and gender neutrality, the annual awards show had breakout moments, including political jabs, elaborate dance scenes and hit performances.

The most memorable moments of the night included host Adam DeVine's star-studded opening number and the "Fast and Furious" receiving the Generation Award while paying homage to their late co-star, Paul Walker, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

The new categories that were added to the fan-voted awards show this year included best host, best reality competition, next generation, trending, best musical moment and best American story, which showcases America at its best, open and diverse - and combined the best actor and actress categories into one.

Host Adam DeVine kicked off the show with a tribute to "Beauty and the Beast".

The award function began with a celebration of gender fluidity as gender-neutral nonbinary performer Asia Kate Dillon (Billions) presented the show's first gender-neutral acting award. Dillon presented the best actor in a movie award to "Beauty and the Beast"'s Emma Watson. The nominees in the category included both male and female performers.

"The Fast and the Furious" stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster and Tyrese Gibson accepted the MTV Generation Award on Sunday night, marking the first time a film franchise has received this honour instead of an individual actor.

Trevor Noah won the golden popcorn award for best host and took the stage to thank his mom and also the president of the United States, saying, "Thank you to Donald J. Trump for the comedy; the 'J' stands for Jesus I don't know if you knew that", reports hollywoodreporter.com.

"The Daily Show" host also took a moment to acknowledge France's momentous election, where centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron won the popular vote, defeating right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen, saying, "Thank you to France for making the right decision."

"Snatched" co-stars Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn took the stage to present the award for movie of the year, and like many other awards-show presenters this award season, they took the opportunity to poke fun at the infamous Oscar best picture snafu - first saying that "La La Light" had won, then "Moonland" before announcing the real recipient of the golden popcorn, "Beauty and the Beast".

Emma Stone and Josh Gad came up to accept the award alongside the film's director Bill Condon.

Host Adam DeVine got sucked into the "sunken place" by Get Out star Allison Williams while hosting the awards on Sunday night.

The Pitch Perfect star began by lauding Williams about her movie's success and how he believes in the "sunken place," which is an alternate realm that the mother of Williams' character puts her boyfriend in during the film.

Moonlight's Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome received the award for best kiss at the Awards night on The young actors accepted the award for their kiss in the Oscar-winning film.

"I think it is safe to say that it is OK for us young performers, especially us minority performers, to step out of the box," Jerome said onstage.

"Stranger Things" star Millie Bobby Brown won the golden popcorn for best actor in a show at the awards show Sunday night.