Olivia Rodrigo's VMA performance left the audience and viewers in shock as the stage setting appeared to collapse around her. The 20-year-old hitmaker took the stage at the Video Music Awards on Tuesday (September 12) night to sing her hit single 'Vampire' at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The High School Musical: The Musical: The Series actress donned a red bra and matching skirt for her performance, and was seen sitting on the ground surrounded by foliage. <img class="wp-image-1263228228 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/09/GettyImages-1677050855.jpg" alt="Olivia Rodrigo" width="1024" height="681" />[[imagecaption|| Olivia Rodrigo onstage at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards. Credit: Bennett Raglin / Getty]] However as the song went on, pyrotechnics and smoke started to fall from the ceiling which apparently startled the 'Drivers License' hitmaker, but she still continued to sing along. Seconds later, fake trees and a red drape fell from the stage, which led to a "floor manager" rushing over to Rodrigo and quickly ushering her off the stage. Watch the moment below:  [[jwplayerwidget||https://cdn.jwplayer.com/videos/4RguJp8O-Q0L14jDU.mp4||4RguJp8O]] The audience got noticeably quiet during the awkward moment as the camera panned toward stars like Selena Gomez, Chase Stokes, and Kelsea Ballerini, who were all caught looking very wide-eyed. The stage went dark and then briefly cut to her hit song 'Good For U' before she started performing another new hit, 'Get Him Back', surrounded by a number of pink-clad singers-dancers. While the disruption seemed to worry Gomez, her reaction went viral on social media, with one user <a href="https://twitter.com/sweeterheavens/status/1701755954709111241">writing</a> that Rodrigo "really traumatized" the 31-year-old star. Another user <a href="https://twitter.com/cursedhive/status/1701749294414401998">quipped</a> that Rodrigo was about to give Gomez a "heart attack" while a third <a href="https://twitter.com/SEXYLIKESELENUR/status/1701757615053664530">added</a> that The Only Murders In The Building star's expression was due to her being "concerned" for the young singer's safety. However, some fans said the audience and viewers shouldn't have been worried as the "stage malfunctions" in the performance were meant to mirror the visuals seen in the music video for 'Vampire'. So the star's set falling apart was certainly no accident. One person on TikTok said "Literally no one got the vampire MV reference ??" while a second user remarked: "No one understood the reference. I missed it I’m kind of mad." <img class="wp-image-1263228232 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/09/GettyImages-1677137935.jpg" alt="Olivia Rodrigo " width="683" height="1024" />[[imagecaption|| Olivia Rodrigo at the end of her VMA performance. Credit: Mike Coppola / Getty]] Gomez's facial expressions at last night's awards ceremony got tons of attention on social media, as many viewers also caught her <a href="https://vt.co/entertainment/selena-gomez-chris-brown-vma-rihanna" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"disgusted" reaction to Chris Brown's nomination</a>. As the nominees for Best R&B were read out, cameras on the 'Same Old Love' musician showed her scrunching her nose at the same time the controversial 34-year-old musician's name was read as a nominee for his feature song 'How Does It Feel' with Chlöe Bailey. While the Moon Man award was awarded to SZA for her song 'Shirt,' this prompted another disappointed look from the 'Love You Like A Love Song' singer who appeared unhappy that the songstress wasn't at the show to accept her award in person. Elsewhere in the award show, <a href="https://vt.co/entertainment/taylor-swift-mtv-vma-record" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taylor Swift made history</a> after winning nine trophies in one night. <h6>Featured image credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty</h6>

VMAs audience reacts as Olivia Rodrigo's set 'falls apart' during performance

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