Michael Jackson's Name Removed From MTV's Video Vanguard Award

30 August 2019, 16:57 | Updated: 30 August 2019, 16:59

Michael Jackson's name removed from the Video Vanguard Award. Picture: Getty

MTV appear to have removed Michael Jackson's name from the Video Vanguard Award following Missy Elliott's recent win.

Earlier this year reports claimed that MTV were planning on removing Michael Jackson's name from the Video Vanguard Award at the VMAs and it appears that's exactly what's happened following the recent awards show.

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Renamed back in 1991, the Vangaurd Award had Michael Jackson added to it's title in honour of the pop star and the special gold award is given to outstanding music performers, recognizing accomplishments in both music and film.

View this post on Instagram

#WhatANight Still feeling the love!! Thank you @vmas @pepsi for an amazing night and an epic afterparty!!

A post shared by Missy Elliott (@missymisdemeanorelliott) on Aug 28, 2019 at 12:08pm PDT

At the 2019 VMAs Missy Elliott was awarded with the accolade, however Michael Jackson's name had been removed from the award. Despite this, Missy still called it the "Michael Jackson Vanguard Award in her acceptance speech and even shouted out Jackson's sister Janet.

MTV haven't issued a statement about the removal of Jackson's name, however the VMAs website simply lists's Missy Elliott's recent award as the Video Vanguard Award

Having faced controversy around alleged sexual abuse over the years, being brought to the fore recently due to the documentary 'Leaving Neverland', speculation had been rife around whether the 'Billie Jean' star's name would continue to be linked to the award.