Justin Bieber led the nominations, with a total of eight, making him the most nominated male artist.[2]Doja Cat and Lil Nas X were both tied, with six nominations, with Doja being the most nominated female act.[3]
Performances
The stage of the event.
The performers were announced on November 11, 2021.[4]
After the decision to hold the MTV EMA in Budapest, there was criticism for the location, because of the Hungarian's parliament decision to adopt laws against the LGBT community in June 2021.[8] President and CEO of MTV Entertainment Group Worldwide Chris McCarthy explained that no censorship by the Hungarian government will be tolerated:[9]
"As a gay man, my personal emotions got the better of me. After learning this legislation passed, my knee jerk reaction was that we should move the event to another country. However, I picked up the phone to connect with global LGBTQ+ advocates, [...] and consulted our LGBTQ+ employee resource group, Emerge. The decision was very clear to all of us, [...] we should not move the event. Instead, we should move forward, using the show as an opportunity to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community in Hungary and around the world as we continue to fight for equality for all".
Performers included Kim Petras, the first out trans performer at the EMAs,[10] with an act that was intentionally raunchy and "sex positive"[10] and who spoke out to say "It's going to be pretty powerful to be in Hungary and perform the show when these laws have just happened".[11] Other artists were also given stage time to speak out against Hungarian anti-LGBTQ+ policies, including Saweetie and Lil Nas X.[11]
