Grammys 2025: Revisit 6 Biggest Controversial Moments in the Awards' History

From 50 Cent interrupting Evanescence to Adele apologizing to Beyoncé, here's a list of the 6 biggest controversial moments in the Grammys 2025 Awards history.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Feb 01, 2025 | 08:09 PM IST | 5.3K

CC: Getty Images

The Grammy Awards have always been a stage for jaw-dropping performances, shocking moments, and emotional speeches. Year after year, the ceremony witnessed several controversial moments that left the audience speechless, stunned, and quite shocked.

Whether it was an artist knocking down barriers or a surprise collaboration no one saw coming; even scandals that bring shockwaves of surprise through music circles, there’s always a shock factor at the Grammys. On that note, let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit 6 biggest controversial moments that fans and critics, to some extent, and even celebrities, continue to talk about.

6 Biggest controversial moments in the Grammy Awards history

1. Milli Vanilli Grammys scandal (1990)

Milli Vanilli had won the Best New Artist award, but they didn't even sing on their recording. The Academy revoked their award upon the revelations which is a first in the History of the music industry.

2. Frank Sinatra's acceptance speech gets cut off early, and Billy Joel wastes time in response (1994)

In 1994, at the 36th Grammys, Billy Joel paused his performance for 20 seconds and said, "Valuable advertising time going by." This was because Frank Sinatra's Legend Award acceptance speech had been cut off early, so Joel deliberately wasted time to honor Sinatra.

3. Harry Styles heckled by Beyoncé fans (2023)

In a recent wild Grammys controversial moment, Harry Styles got booed when he went up to the stage to receive his Album of the Year award after defeating Beyoncé.

Styles said, "This doesn't happen to people like me very often," even though he became the 33rd white man to take that award home. This attracted online backlash, as Beyoncé has never won in that category despite been nominated five times.

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4. Chris Brown assaulting Rihanna (2009)

Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna in 2009, at a pre-Grammys party. He later pleaded guilty to one count of assault and got a sentence of five years in prison. In the later years when Brown won Best R&B Album and performed at the awards show twice, fans were outraged.

5. Beyoncé loses Album of the Year to Adele (2017)

At the 59th annual Grammy Awards, Beyoncé won almost everything, though, losing Album of the Year to Adele's 25. Adele even apologized to her idol, the Single Ladies hitmaker in her acceptance speech.

This win against the Lemonade singer caused a great uproar among fans, who all seemed to believe the win should have gone to Beyoncé.

6. 50 Cent interrupts Evanescence's acceptance speech (2004)

In 2004, 50 Cent took the world by storm with his album Get Rich or Die Tryin’. However, the Best New Artist award went to Evanescence. This enraged Fifty as he stormed the stage to interrupt Amy Lee's acceptance speech, something Kanye West did to Taylor Swift at the VMAs years later.

These Grammys' biggest controversial moments and unforgettable events were not just to define the night but also became canon in pop culture later on.