"She has to weigh 109 pounds" — Cardi B defends Tyla, extends support amid backlash over Halle VMAs incident

On September 16, 2024, Cardi B took to X Spaces to defend Tyla amid the backlash she received for asking Lil Nas X and Halle Bailey to hold her MTV VMA trophy while giving speech. Talking about the Safer singer's stature to justify her ask for help, Cardi B mentioned:

"I met Tyla in person; I'm 5'3, so I'm already short. She's shorter than me, and no lie, she's shaped really beautifully, but she's very skinny, like Mariah [Carey] type of skinny. She has to weigh 109 pounds, and you f*****g gotta carry a 10-pound award with heels."

On September 11, 2024, Tyla received the Moon Person award in the Best Afrobeats category for her viral track Water. At the 2024 Video Music Awards, the singer delivered her speech while Lil Nas X obliged by holding her trophy. This instance garnered public attention, with many users criticizing the singer for asking prominent music artists to hold her award.

Cardi B also clarified that the Jump singer had to ask Lil Nas X but everyone was trying to make it about how rude she was to ask another female artist (Halle Bailey) to help her with holding the trophy. Cardi added that she loves Halle but Tyla didn't ask Halle for help, instead she requested Lil Nas X.

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"I was not asking my girl Halle" — Tyla comments on VMAs incident

After receiving the VMA for Best Afrobeats, Tyla requested Lil Nas X to hold her award by stating:

"Oh my gosh. You guys know me and holding awards. Yo, I cannot — I'm not strong enough. Please, please."

The incident quickly turned into an event of criticism for the singer. While Cardi B came to the singer's defence, Tyla herself took to X on September 12, 2024, to address the issue and tweeted:

"Y'all make everything weird… I was not asking my girl Halle… We just girls 💅🏽 , STFU I WON A VMAAAA"

Apart from the Halle-Lil Nas incident, a lot of attention was drawn toward the singer's speech as well. The singer took her winning opportunity to clarify the difference between the kind of music she makes and the category in which she was honored. She talked about the global impact of her track Water, proving that "African music can be pop music too".

Calling it special yet bittersweet, Tyla added that the tendency to categorize every African artist under Afrobeats. The singer stated that Afrobeats has opened a lot of doors for African artists and has run things. However, she mentioned that African music is diverse and "it is more than just Afrobeats".

Toward the end of her speech, Tyla said:

“I come from South Africa. I represent Amapiano. I represent my culture."

She also dubbed her win as a "big moment for Africa".

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In other news, the Priorities singer has been the centre of attention with her frequent performances. Her last prominent performance was at the prelude to the 2024 Olympics wherein she sang Water, Jump, and, Thata Ahh.