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Somewhere between Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” jiggling and Taylor Swift’s typically pedestrian pop performance was a pictorial tribute that was so bad, it actually caused offense.
Despite being an evening celebrating commercial music videos, the MTV VMAs never-the-less decided it should probably do something to mark the sudden passing of Robin Williams .
So it shoved together a 20-second slide show featuring random images of the star that looked not unlike a PowerPoint presentation cobbled together by a seven year old about 10 minutes prior to broadcast.
And their (lack of) effort didn’t go unnoticed. Many viewers took to Twitter to complain about the montage (scroll down to watch it in full):
Perhaps even worse, they layered said montage over a particularly limp Coldplay soundtrack, that added an extra air of whimsical nonchalance to what should have been a touching tribute.
Williams was found dead on 11 August after he took his own life. He was 63.
His publicist confirmed that he had been suffering from “severe depression” after he was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic a month previously to continue to focus “on his sobriety”.
MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in picturesShow all 35 1 /35MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Miley Cyrus Singer Miley Cyrus attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Jessie J Jessie J arrives at the MTV VMAs ahead of her opening performance with Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Taylor Swift Singer Taylor Swift attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Kim Kardashian TV personality Kim Kardashian attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Nicki Minaj Recording artist Nicki Minaj attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Angel Haze and Ireland Baldwin Angel Haze and Ireland Baldwin attend the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Charli XCX Singer Charli XCX goes wild at the MTV VMAs 2014
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Jennifer Lopez Singer Jennifer Lopez attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Rita Ora Rita Ora attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Kesha Singer Kesha arrives with rainbow hair for the MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum in California
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Iggy Azalea Recording artist Iggy Azalea attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Amber Rose Model Amber Rose takes the chain and not much else approach
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Julianne Hough Actress/dancer Julianne Hough attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Jeremy Scott Fashion designer Jeremy Scott turns some heads in lairy yellow on the VMAs red carpet
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures 5 Seconds of Summer Ashton Irwin, Calum Hood, Luke Hemmings, and Michael Clifford of 5 Seconds of Summer on the MTV VMAs red carpet
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Ariana Grande Ariana Grande opts for the leather look on the MTV VMAs red carpet
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Lucy Hale Actress Lucy Hale attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Nick Jonas Nick Jonas looks dapper on the red carpet ahead of this year's MTV VMAs
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Alexandra Shipp Actress Alexandra Shipp attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Gwen Stefani Gwen Stefani attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Jillian Rose Reed Actress Jillian Rose Reed looks colourful on the VMAs red carpet
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Brandi Cyrus Actress Brandi Cyrus attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Becky G Recording artist Becky G attends the MTV VMAs
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Jourdan Dunn Model Jourdan Dunn attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Laverne Cox Actress Laverne Cox attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Arden Cho Actress Arden Cho attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Ed Sheeran Singer Ed Sheeran attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Award
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Keltie Knight Keltie Knight arrives on the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Jordin Sparks Recording artist Jordin Sparks attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Camille Guaty Actress Camille Guaty attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Michelle Williams Recording artist Michelle Williams attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Kelly Rowland Recording artist Kelly Rowland attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Demi Lovato Singer Demi Lovato attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Kylie Jenner TV personality Kylie Jenner attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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MTV VMAs 2014 red carpet in pictures Chris Brown Recording artist Chris Brown attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards
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It later emerged that he had been in the early stages of Parkinson's disease.
A tribute to Williams will air at the Emmy Awards 2014 on 25 August . Hopefully they've reached outside the remit of ClipArt to create theirs.
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