Last night, as Billboard, E! News, US Weekly, and every other entertainment publication in existence reports, Zayn Malik won Best Music Video for "Pillowtalk" at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Zayn was in France for Paris Fashion Week last night, but after iHeartRadio announced his victory, he posted a brief acceptance speech featuring his "Pillowtalk" costar Gigi Hadid on social media. iHeartRadio then broadcast his speech on their official Snapchat.
https://twitter.com/oliviagobrien/status/838886060339802112
I'm sure Zayn is very happy with his made up award, and I guess the iHeartRadio Music Awards did get their Oscars-style snafu after all. Good for them! Everyone wins! Except Zayn fans, who are pretty incensed about the whole thing and trying to get #iHeartWasRigged to start trending on Twitter.
We've reached out to iHeartRadio for comment.
UPDATE: iHeartRadio has responded to the controversy on Twitter, apologizing for the mix-up without really admitting that they, you know, made up a category for Zayn to win.
We want to apologize to all fans for the confusion. Incorrect messaging was pushed out on Saturday night during rehearsals. (Pt.1)
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) March 7, 2017
Combining Online, Digital and Social Media voting, fans voted Fifth Harmony as the winners for #BestMusicVideo at our #iHeartAwards. (Pt.2)
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) March 7, 2017
Zayn was the winner of Best Solo Breakout artist at the #iHeartAwards. Congratulations again to all of our winners! (Pt.3)
— iHeartRadio (@iHeartRadio) March 7, 2017
