The band were told by MTV that they could not swear or use pyrotechnics, so they deviated from their plan to try and teach MTV a lesson. The band were banned from MTV for years after this incident, and any mention of the band and their set were removed from future broadcasts of the awards.
The band's actions were prompted by MTV's restrictions on profanity and pyrotechnics, leading to a ban from MTV and removal of any mention of them from future awards shows.