While MTV’s Video Music Awards are a non-stop celebrity-packed orgy of excess and “what’s Taylor Swift wearing?” queries, viewers will not doubt be shocked to know that—gasp!—the awards ceremony really doesn’t do all that much to honor the people who actually made the music videos it’s honoring. In fact, as The Daily Beast reports, while the groups who appear in the nominated videos are welcome to attend the ceremony, other people associated with the videos, like the directors, are required to fork over between $450 and $800 just to get a seat in the building.
Josh Forbes, director of the VMA-nominated video for Walk The Moon’s “Shut Up And Dance,” is drawing attention to the awards’ anti-plebian slight by using GoFundMe to raise money to get in the door. Forbes is seeking $1,300 by August 30, the date of the taping, which he says he’ll use to get himself and his “very pregnant” wife tickets, as well as a ride to the show via Uber. He’ll also buy himself a new and semi-cheap suit, because he can’t exactly be expected to show up looking like a pauper, can he?
Fortunately for Forbes, the internet has heeded his cries and has already topped off his goal, raising about $2,300 as of this post. In turn, Forbes says he’ll try to make “amazing videos on Instagram” from inside the event. He also says he’ll “try and fart on Kanye,” noting, “that would be even better than winning a Moonman.”