2026 VMAs Accused of Being 'Rigged' by Fans After Madonna Wins Several Awards: 'Very Surprised'

Fans accused the 2026 VMAs of being rigged after Madonna won several awards on Sunday night, September 27.

The veteran pop star won in a bunch of categories, taking home the award over buzzy fan-favorites, including Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, PinkPantheress, Harry Styles, Bruno Mars and Olivia Rodrigo.

The "Material Girl" singer took home Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration alongside Carpenter for "Bring Your Love," Best Dance and Best Long Form Video for Confessions II - The Film, and Best Album for Confessions II. All of these categories are fan-voted.

Within industry-voted categories, Madonna won for Best Cinematography and Best Choreography.

Though Madonna remains one of pop music’s most iconic figures, she has kept a relatively lower profile in recent years. That made her strong showing at the September 27 awards ceremony all the more surprising to some viewers, with a number of fans even questioning whether the results had been manipulated.

"Okay, maybe it is rigged bc how does Madonna win artist of the year in 2026?? like maybe 40 years ago but not now, especially with who she was up against," one person wrote on X.

The same user added, "I just can’t imagine teens and young adults actively voting for her????"

Someone else replied, writing, "With how hard Carpenters voted for Sabrina too, I was very surprised."

Another fan said, "The people who would vote for her couldn't figure out how to. Idk how she's even on it to begin with, but I realized when she was seated up front it was rigged somehow."

Yet another agreed, "No way that actually was a legit win."

While the majority of people on X seemed to agree that it was strange for Madonna to win in so many categories, others thought it was well deserved.

"She showed up and dropped the best album this year, and she’s getting rewarded for her amazing work," one person said.

"Madonna has the best album of the year. Nobody has come close, and I think y'all definitely don't give her fanbase credit. We voted hard for her, she deserves all her flowers this year. ❤️," wrote another.

"Listen to the album and then it’ll make sense," asserted someone else.

The star has an unbelievable total of 27 VMAs to her name, having won her first one at the third-ever awards show in 1986.

Meanwhile, Swift won for Video of the Year and Best Direction, while BTS took home Song of the Year for "Swim."

LISA won Best Pop, and Cardi B and Kehlani won Best Hip-Hop.

Other honorees included Mars, Rodrigo, Bad Bunny and Ella Langley.