Recap: MTV VMAS 2018: Complete List Of Winners, Highlights, Madonna Slammed For Aretha Tribute, and More

(CNN) -- The moon people have landed.

MTV's big night: 
MTV's biggest night of the year, the Video Music Awards, was an A+ spectacle with both pop culture and politics headlines. The top prize, video of the year, went to Camila Cabello for "Havana..." Cabello also won artist of the year.

Logic, performing alongside OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder, wore a "F*** the wall" shirt. "The duo invited families displaced by immigration laws -- all wearing shirts reading 'We Are All Human Beings' -- to join them onstage," per Rolling Stone.

Earlier, Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart jump-started the evening with a joint monologue... Hart said the VMAs were "game day," and "you guys are allowed to kneel. You can do whatever the hell you want. There's no old white man that can stop it. Do it."

He finished by saying "You never know what's going to happen at the VMAs -- I mean, beefs pop off, bad language, people run to the bathroom and send out crazy tweets -- it's basically like a typical day at the White House. In your face Trump, suck it!"

J-Lo and A-Rod
Jennifer Lopez accepted the Video Vanguard Award while Alex Rodriguez watched from the audience. "You're like my twin soul. We're like mirror images of each other," she told him from the stage. "You make me realize every day the sky is not the limit, the universe is infinite, and so is what we can accomplish together with love and trust and understanding..."

Best New Artist:
Cardi B won the Moon Person prize for best new artist...

Entertainment sites were abuzz about her appearance since it was her "first public event" since giving birth five weeks ago. She trolled the crowd by pretending to bring her daughter on stage with her. Later, while accepting the award, she made a pointed statement that had viewers cheering: "All these people said I was gambling my career by having a baby. But I carried my baby and I had my baby and I'm still winning awards..."

Michael Avenatti was there...
Variety reporter Marc Malkin's first Q for Michael Avenatti on the VMAs red carpet: "What the heck are you doing here?" Avenatti said he was invited... and reiterated that he's thinking about a 2020 run...

MTV's first-ever midterm year GOTV effort

Rock the Vote and MTV have been working together for decades. But now MTV is making a midterms push for the first time. At the VMAs, the network introduced +1TheVote, "a new digital initiative aimed at getting young people to convince their friends to register to vote with them," Wired's Issie Lapowsky reported. The TV promo featured Jared Leto, Adam Rippon, Lauren Jauregui and Fat Joe...

'The Hills' Are Returning to MTV:
Apparently, the rest will no longer be unwritten.

During Monday's MTV Video Music Awards, the network announced "The Hills" will be returning to MTV in 2019 with a slightly new name: "The Hills: New Beginnings."

Details on the reality series are still under wraps, but Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Audrina Patridge, Justin Bobby, Frankie Delgado and Stephanie Pratt were all seen at the VMAs.

Related: 'The Hills' 10th anniversary: They're all grown up

Noticeably absent were several of the show's original cast members, including Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavallari and Whitney Port.

According to MTV, "The Hills: New Beginnings" will reunite some of the original cast members "alongside their children and friends, and follow their personal and professional lives while living in Los Angeles."

Madonna Gets Called Out For Tribute to Aretha Franklin:

Madonna's attempt to pay tribute to Aretha Franklin on MTV's Video Music Awards has some viewers calling out the singer for d-i-s-r-e-s-p-e-c-t.

Madonna appeared at the VMAs on Monday to present the award for video of the year and honor Franklin, who died last week after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Her so-called tribute, however, left viewers scratching their heads, with some saying her speech was as much an appreciation of herself as it was to the Queen of Soul.

'Long live the queen'
Madonna opened her statement by saying Franklin "changed the course of my life," but from there, it evolved into a story about Madonna's journey into the music business.

The singer shared her experience at an audition where she sang Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" in a last-minute decision after she had failed to bring sheet music or prepare another song.

Madonna said she ended up singing the tune, which she knew "by heart," acapella. Though, she said, the two men who she was auditioning for didn't believe "some skinny-ass white girl" was going to "belt out a song by one of the greatest soul singers that ever lived."

According to Madonna, she impressed the men, but the gig ended up leading to a dead-end opportunity. While her big break would come later, she said Franklin "led me to where I am today."

"I want to thank you, Aretha, for empowering all of us. R-E-S-P-E-C-T," she said. "Long live the queen."

The reaction
Viewers reacted swiftly on social media to Madonna's story and her attempt to honor Franklin.

Some people complained that Madonna's remarks were too focused on her own triumph rather than Franklin's legacy.

"So instead of an actual tribute to Aretha you let Madonna talk about herself for 30 minutes?! @MTV our beautiful black queen deserves better," wrote one user.

Others lambasted MTV for failing to find an artist of color to speak to Franklin's impact.

"#Madonna is demonstrating a dynamic performance of peak white womanhood. This was not an #Aretha tribute but a monologue on how another iconic Black woman is being reduced to how she helped a white woman," one person wrote.

MTV has not responded to CNN's request for comment.

Complete List of Winners: 

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Camila Cabello ft. Young Thug -- "Havana" *WINNER

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Camila Cabello *WINNER

SONG OF THE YEAR
Post Malone ft. 21 Savage -- "rockstar" *WINNER

BEST NEW ARTIST
Cardi B *WINNER

BEST COLLABORATION
Jennifer Lopez ft. DJ Khaled & Cardi B -- "Dinero" *WINNER

BEST POP
Ariana Grande -- "No Tears Left to Cry" *WINNER

BEST HIP-HOP
Nicki Minaj -- "Chun-Li" *WINNER

BEST LATIN
J Balvin, Willy William -- "Mi Gente" *WINNER

BEST DANCE
Avicii ft. Rita Ora -- "Lonely Together" *WINNER

BEST ROCK
Imagine Dragons -- "Whatever It Takes" *WINNER

VIDEO WITH A MESSAGE
Childish Gambino -- "This Is America" *WINNER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
The Carters -- "APES**T" -- Cinematography by Benoit Debie *WINNER

BEST DIRECTION
Childish Gambino -- "This Is America" -- Directed by Hiro Murai *WINNER

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Carters -- "APES**T" -- Art Direction by Jan Houlevigue *WINNER

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