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TDE’s Punch Clarifies the Decision Behind Pulling SZA’s VMAs Performance
Following this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, TDE label head Punch has finally addressed the glaring absence of SZA from both the event’s attendee list and the performance lineup. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, September 15, Punch shed light on the reasons behind this notable omission, attributing it to what he perceived as a snub in the Artist of the Year category.
“Obviously, she had one of the best years, if not the best year, of any artist at this point. I don’t see why she wouldn’t be nominated for Artist of the Year. It just really didn’t make any sense to me. It’s disrespectful,” Punch said.
The co-president of Top Dawg Entertainment expressed his disbelief and disappointment at SZA’s absence from a category that featured prominent names like Beyoncé, Shakira, Nicki Minaj, Karol G, Doja Cat, and the ultimate winner, Taylor Swift.
He went on to explain, “And they ended up saying, ‘Okay, well, we could do another call,’ because there were people on [the call] about logistics for the show who didn’t have anything to do with [the nominations]. When we tried to set up the second call, they didn’t want to discuss Artist of the Year, which to me was really a slap in the face.”
Punch further emphasized, “Why wouldn’t she be nominated for Artist of the Year? Even with the other artists that were nominated for Artist of the Year, some of them were even off-cycle. They didn’t have an album out. I mean, no disrespect to them or anybody else; everybody’s great and all of that, but still, you can’t discredit what SOS has done and is currently doing.”
SZA, known for her hit “Good Days,” not only achieved chart-topping success with SOS but also made waves with her debut arena tour.
In the upcoming week, SZA is set to kick off the second leg of her North American “SOS Tour,” with d4vd as the opening act. The tour is scheduled to commence on September 20 in Miami and includes stops in Toronto, Nashville, Los Angeles, Houston, and concluding in Phoenix on October 29.
