Cyrus steals MTV show by smoking cannabis on stage

US pop sensationalist Miley Cyrus took her publicity-seeking further still by smoking a cannabis joint as she received her award for Best Video at the MTV European Music Awards in Amsterdam on Sunday.

The evening’s biggest winner was hip-hop icon Eminem who took home two awards, but Cyrus, 20, kept the spotlight firmly on herself after kicking off the show by twerking with a latex-clad dwarf called Little Britney.

Thanking the director of her hit single Wrecking Ball for the award, Cyrus took to the stage in a tight white body suit and platform heels and said: “I don’t have room for the award in my bag but I did find this ...”

She then took what appeared to be a half-smoked joint out of her Chanel bag and lit it up at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, where you can buy cannabis in the city’s coffee shops and where Cyrus had been photographed earlier with Dutch DJ Afrojack.

“I’d like to thank Terry Richardson for putting this together,” said Cyrus, a self-confessed weed smoker.

The world’s pop glitterati descended on Amsterdam for the event, with Eminem stepping out of a giant boombox after winning the Global Icon and Hip Hop awards.

Canada’s Justin Bieber won the Best Male award for the fourth year running, and thanked his fans in a pre-recorded video message.

One Direction won the award for Best Pop, and US singer Beyoncé won Best Live, with both also saying a cursory thanks in a pre-recorded video.

Miley twerking during her performance in Amsterdam

Norwegian Internet sensation and comedy duo Ylvis performed their hit The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?), which has clocked over 200m views on YouTube in the last two months, wearing matching fox outfits with long tails on an otherwise galactic-themed night.

China’s Chris Lee (Li Yuchun) won the ward for Worldwide Act.

“I was just sitting back there sipping champagne looking at all those amazing artists, thinking how am I gonna win?” US singer Katy Perry said after winning the award for Best Female.