Megan Thee Stallion and Justin Timberlake appeared to have a heated exchange backstage at the 2023 Video Music Awards, according to a video that surfaced on social media on Tuesday, September 12.
The “Savage” artist, 28, was seen in the clip looking annoyed and seemingly dismissed the “Mirrors” crooner, 42, while he walked past her with the other members of NSYNC. As Megan seemingly spoke to Justin, his bandmate Joey Fatone appeared to laugh as they walked away while her stylist fixed her hair.
Several X users — previously known as Twitter — commented on the viral clip, with several writing the exchange seemed “random.”
“Oops, what happened?” one person asked in the comments section. “What’s going on?” another chimed in. A third wrote, “Justin stepped on her toes.”
It is currently unclear why Megan and Justin appeared to have an uncomfortable moment. However, a source close to the situation told HollywoodLife, “Meg loves Justin. She was saying “No, no, no, we’ve never met before. It was their first time meeting, and she was excited.”
Both went on to do their individual parts for the show. Justin and his band presented the award for Best Pop Song to the winner, Taylor Swift, whereas Megan performed her hit single “Bongos” with Cardi B on stage.
Before he gave Taylor, 33, her award, Justin took a moment with his bandmates Joey, JC Chasez, Lance Bass and Chris Kirkpatrick to reflect on NSYNC’s success when they won their VMA two decades ago.
“Over 20 years ago, we were just kids when we won Best Pop Video for ‘Bye Bye Bye,’”JC said. “It was our first VMA, and it meant the world to us. It validated our hard work.”
As for Megan, she and Cardi B, 30, brought the house down when they performed together. Megan and Cardi slayed in deep blue fringe two-piece outfits while belting out the track. As part of their performance, the dynamic duo transformed the stage into a tropical getaway with palm trees sitting in the background.
Reps for Megan and Justin did not immediately respond to HollywoodLife’s request for comment.