Drake was stuck in traffic to the VMAs but still showed up for Rihanna

Traffic in New York on Sunday evening was a nightmare in midtown thanks to MTV's Video Music Awards, but one of the artists was even caught in the gridlock himself - Aubrey Graham, aka Drake.

Drake won the first award of the night for best hip-hop video for "Hotline Bling," but the rapper was unable to collect his Moon Man because, as Puff Daddy told the crowd, he was "stuck in traffic."

It seemed like a joke at the time, and Twitter ran with it, with a lot of reactions about the seemingly lame excuse.

But it turns out that Drake wasn't just making an excuse: "Drake really was stuck in traffic - that was true," a VMAs staffer told Billboard.

The Canadian star showed up just in in the nick of time, however, to present his reported girlfriend Rihanna with the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award.

Knowing Drake, he probably got out of his car and ran to Madison Square Garden.

"She's one of my best friends in the world," Drake said in his speech. "All my adult life, I've looked up to her even though she's younger than me. She's a living, breathing legend in our industry."

You can read the full speech here.

Drake also professed his love for Rihanna during the speech and the two reportedly shared a quick kiss after cameras had panned away.

You can watch both speeches below.