Chance The Rapper Wasn’t Happy About Miley Cyrus Saying ‘Mammy’ At The VMAs

Chance the Rapper wasn’t at the MTV VMAs because he felt that his video for “Sunday Candy” was snubbed. (Which is correct. I mean, what the hell, MTV?) But his Twitter made it clear that Mr. Bennett was watching, especially when host Miley Cyrus said the word “mammy” during a sketch.

For those who might not know the history of the word, a “mammy” was a black caretaker who took care of white slave owners’ children in the antebellum South. The word is more than a little loaded with racial history, including Al Jolson’s blackface performance in The Jazz Singer on up to Dave Chappelle’s use of it in a fake WB promo to call out the network’s lily-white lineup. But for those who didn’t know the history, Chance tweeted a photo soon after.

It’s entirely possible that Miley doesn’t know the history of the word, or has used heard it used to mean other things. She referred to her own grandmother as “mammy” in her recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! But that didn’t stop Twitter from calling her out.

https://twitter.com/itsamandaross/status/638187300061626368

https://twitter.com/OhSashaRightttt/status/638180790799503360

Miley has yet to respond, but she did release that long-rumored Flaming Lips collaboration immediately after the show.

If you missed the VMAs, don’t worry, you can catch up on everything that happened here.