A homeless youth accepts Miley Cyrus’ Video of the Year award at the VMAs

“It’s not about the twerking. It’s about the music,” Miley Cyrus said on the red carpet of tonight’s VMAs. After last year’s performance broke the Internet and dominated the entire media reporting cycle for months, everyone was looking to see what stunt she’s pull this year, but she took her low-key approach even farther. When she won the coveted Music Video of The Year Award for her controversial “Wrecking Ball” video, she stood up and started clapping, but didn’t move to the stage. Instead, a young man named Jesse accepted the award for her on behalf of the homeless youth of the United States.

“Thank you all — my name is Jesse, and I am accepting this award on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth in the United States who are starving lost and scared for their lives right now. I know because I am one of these people,” he said, dressed in a suit and tie and reading from a few pieces of paper. “I’ve survived in shelters all over this city. … Though I may have been invisible to you in the streets, I have a lot of the same dreams that brought many of you here tonight.” Jesse said that L.A. has the largest homeless youth population in the country.

While a tearful Miley watched from a ramp near the stage, Jesse directed people to Miley’s Facebook page where she is asking to raise money for My Friend’s Place, a homeless shelter in L.A. This is a whole other kind of wrecking ball.