‘Outer Banks’ Stars Madison Bailey & Rudy Pankow Win Best Kiss At 2023 MTV Awards
The coveted MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Kiss nomination is a highly coveted one, but on May 7, it was Madison Bailey & Rudy Pankow who took home the Golden Popcorn trophy!
Hot and heavy make-out sessions are what many watch the MTV Movie & TV Awards for, and although this year’s show didn’t include that it doesn’t make the winners’ moment any less special. With several impressive nominees this year, it was a close call, but Outer Banks stars Madison Bailey and Rudy Pankow performed the steamiest kiss of all! MTV also took to Twitter to announce their exciting win that night.
Best Kiss Winner: Madison Bailey & Rudy Pankow in Outer Banks #MTVAwards
— Movie & TV Awards (@MTVAwards) May 8, 2023
Although Madison and Rudy ended up with the Golden Popcorn trophy, the other nominees had some pretty sexy smooches of their own. Those who also were nominated for the BEST KISS (presented by Cheetos®) award included Anna Torv and Philip Prajoux, The Last Of Us, Harry Styles and David Dawson, My Policeman, Riley Keough and Sam Claflin, Daisy Jones & The Six, and Selena Gomez and Cara Delevingne, Only Murders in the Building.
This year’s ceremony was vastly different from the recent years prior, as the live show and red carpet were cancelled amid the ongoing Writers Guild of America strikes. Three days ahead of the ceremony, then-host Drew Barrymore, 48, backed out of the hosting gig in support of the strike, per Variety. “I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,” she said in the May 4 statement.
“Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation. And until a solution is reached, I am choosing to wait but I’ll be watching from home and hope you will join me. I thank MTV, who has truly been some of the best partners I have ever worked with,” Drew’s message continued. “And I can’t wait to be a part of this next year, when I can truly celebrate everything that MTV has created, which is a show that allows fans to choose who the awards go to and is truly inclusive.”
Last year, the Best Kiss award went to a surprising pair – Poopies and The Snake for their work on Jackass Forever. At the time of his acceptance (watch here), Poopies called the win “a dream come true.” Not only did he thank MTV for the Golden Popcorn trophy, but he made sure to thank his Jackass family.
“Huge thanks to Jackass and all the boys. Jeff Tremaine!”, he said at the start of his speech. “Being a new cast member… it’s not easy.” Later, he joked that he and The Snake “broke up” now that he is a “movie star.” He also created a viral moment when they brought out a massive snake for him to kiss. “I’m so glad that thing did not bite me just now,” he joked about the snake that took six people to carry. The other nominees last year included Hunter Schafer and Dominic Fike: Euphoria, Lily Collins and Lucien Laviscount: Emily in Paris, Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz: The Batman, and Tom Holland and Zendaya: Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The Best Kiss award at the MTV Movie and TV Awards is an iconic award. In previous years some of the A-listers to have won the award include Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinsonfor their work in the Twilight Saga, Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams for The Notebook, and many more. The Twilight Saga co-stars notably have won the award four times, per the MTV website, taking home their final Best Kiss Golden Popcorn in June 2012.