Pat Smear’s unexpected cigarette moment during Nirvana’s MTV Vanguard honor goes viral - Watch Video

Nirvana’s guitarist Pat Smear became the center of attention Sunday night as he lit a cigarette out of nowhere on stage while the surviving members of the legendary grunge rock band accepted the Video Vanguard Award, the lifetime achievement award that is given out at the VMAs. It took very little time for people to catch wind of this happening, which involved Smear lighting up a cigarette on the stage during the award ceremony.

Smear was accompanied by his fellow surviving bandmates of Nirvana - Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic - who were recognized for their great contribution and impact to music and popular culture. Video clips of the cigarette scene became viral on the internet and were widely discussed by the fans.



The trio expressed their gratitude, while addressing the audience, to the late singer, Kurt Cobain, who contributed towards making Nirvana famous for its unique style. Cobain died by suicide in April 1994, at the age of 27 years.

"The ideas for those videos all grew out of the vision of one of the greatest artists of all time, Kurt Cobain. Kurt was one of one," Novoselic said as Smear took a puff. "None of us could have imagined that our band, our sound, or our aesthetic would mean so much to so many people."

The band created seven music videos, including those of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', 'Come as You Are', 'In Bloom', and 'Heart-Shaped Box', prior to Cobain’s death in 1994. Music videos 'You Know You’re Right' and 'Dumb' were released in 2002 and 2023, respectively. They also made a legendary MTV Unplugged episode. Though they did not perform on Sunday, the remaining members of Nirvana have gotten together and performed only a few times since Cobain’s death.

"Nirvana continues to resonate so deeply because people are still hungry for authenticity, or something real, something uncompromising, something that tells you it’s just okay to come as you are," Novoselic said, referencing the band’s 1992 song 'Come As You Are'. "Kurt would have loved that legacy. Thank you all so much."