Was Lady Gaga cheated at the MTV VMAs?

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There may be a revealing message in the news of who won the MTV Video Music Award for best video with a message. The fact that Lada Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ beat Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ suggests that maybe -- just perhaps -- it might have won the top prize for video of the year if it had been nominated.

The new award for video with a message was added clumsily and hastily to the lineup after outrage erupted over the fact that ‘Born This Way’ wasn’t nominated for top video. In an Awards Tracker poll after nominations were announced, 84% of respondents (4,655 voters out of 5,529) said they believed MTV cheated Lady Gaga out of a nomination for video of the year. They checked off this response option: ‘Yes. MTV wants to crown a new pop diva so they rigged the vote results to favor Katy Perry.’

Last year, Lady Gaga swept the MTV VMAs, winning eight Moonmen. This year Perry led with the most nominations (nine originally, upped to 10 when the new category was unveiled for best video with a message), and Lady Gaga received only one –- for best female video. It appeared as if MTV were tossing her one bone to entice her to attend the ceremony.

In the race for female video, ‘Born This Way’ beat ‘Firework’ too. How do you think it would’ve fared if it had been nominated for video of the year?

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-- Tom O’Neil