Red Hot Chili Peppers Pay Tribute to Taylor Hawkins During MTV VMAs 2022 Performance

Red Hot Chili Peppers dedicated their Global Icon award at the MTV VMAs 2022 tonight to Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins. Frontman Anthony Kiedis, 59, drummer Chad Smith, 60, bassist Flea, 59, and guitarist John Frusciante, 52, received the prize Sunday night, becoming just the second U.S. Global Icon recipients.

The band took the stage at the ceremony, performing recent hit “Black Summer,” and “Can’t Stop” from their 2002 album By the Way. Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin then presented their award, and Kiedis thanked them, describing them as “some bad mother– flip-flops.”

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith dedicates his performance at the #VMAs to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins who passed away earlier this year:

“Fly on Hawk, fly on brother.” pic.twitter.com/f8BCxUeVxN

— The Recount Alt (@therecountalt) August 29, 2022

“I did want to thank the sassy mistress known as MTV for supporting us for 1,000 years and more,” the singer said. “But really, really, really I want to thank Flea and John and Chad Smith… for giving me a purpose in my life for the last 40 years. I would’ve been a free-floating disaster in space if not for these boys, so thank you boys for giving me something to do with my life and love.”

Kiedis then handed the mic over to Smith, who made a heartfelt speech about the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died in March at 50. “There’s another musical global icon and his name is Taylor Hawkins,” Smith said. “I want to dedicate this to Taylor and his family. I love them and I miss him every day, and fly on, Hawk. Fly on, brother.”

After thanking his bandmates and family, Flea proclaimed his love for “cockroaches and dirt and trees and every human being,” while Kiedis said Frusciante would convey his message “with his smile. That’s what he’s got to say, it’s his smile,” Kiedis said. “And his guitar playing and his just sweet nature. We love him.”

Soon after the segment, MTV posted an announcement on Twitter reading, “Join the @foofighters & the Hawkins family as they present The Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert — a live global music event honoring the life & music of rock legend, Taylor Hawkins. Watch it this Saturday on http://youtube.com/mtv.”

Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, are among the best-selling bands of all time. The group’s self-titled debut was released in 1984, and their Blood Sugar Sex Magik album in 1991 broke them into the mainstream, with songs such as “Under the Bridge” and “Give It Away.” The band has had two No. 1 albums, Unlimited Love and Stadium Arcadium.

MTV awarded Foo Fighters its inaugural U.S Global Icon Award last year. The award recognizes “an artist/band whose unparalleled career and continued impact & influence has maintained a unique level of global success in music and beyond,” and is based on the MTV’s Europe Music Awards’ Global Icon Award, which has gone to artists like Queen, Eminem, Green Day, and Janet Jackson.