Given that directors are the people who actually make the videos that MTV’s Video Music Awards exist, at least ostensibly, to honor, you’d think MTV’s organizers would treat them with a modicum of respect. Not so. The VMAs do not give a fuck about directors. Consider, for example, this Tweet from former Best Director winner Joseph Kahn:

When I won Best Director VMA for Eminem, MTV stopped letting directors accept on air because I was too ugly :( — Joseph Kahn (@JosephKahn) July 21, 2015

Josh Forbes has more to say about it. Forbes directed the video for Walk The Moon’s “Shut Up And Dance,” nominated for a VMA in the Best Rock Video category. But MTV hasn’t invited him to the ceremony. Instead, Forbes has been offered the opportunity to pay a crazy sum of money for a ticket to the show, as The Daily Beast reports. VMA tickets are not available to the general public, but the people who directed the videos have to pay between $450 and $800 for a seat in the arena. (The nominees for the Best Director video get in for free, but everyone else has to pay.) So Forbes has started a GoFundMe campaign so that he’ll get to be in the building.

The show goes down 8/30 at L.A.’s Microsoft Theater, and Forbes has been seeking $1,300 to pay for tickets for himself and his wife, a new suit, and an Uber to the venue. He’s already exceeded his goal.

On the GoFundMe page, Forbes writes:

I’m looking at this as a sort of social experiment. If I could get a bunch of people to donate a few bucks a piece I just might have a shot at going to this silly thing. And if I go, I’m not just going for myself, I’m going as a champion for the little guy. The outsider goofball who wasn’t invited to his own party. I represent every little guy with a dream, hoping for a shot at the big leagues. Is that too grandiose? Perhaps, but it’s worth a shot. The hope is, at minimum to get enough money for one ticket for myself. But if we can garner enough support, I’d love to take my beautiful (and very pregnant) wife. Any money above and beyond will go to getting a sweet suit and an Uber to-and-from the event. I think this could be hilarious. If you guys get me there, I promise to make amazing videos on instagram for you to enjoy. I also promise to try and fart on Kanye. That would be even better than winning a Moonman.

He tells The Daily Beast, “It started as a pragmatic thing. ‘I want to go to this!’ But to just spend that much money on a one-night event, it feels a little bit like buying your own birthday present. It kinda sucks.”

In a post-Teen Mom era, it seems ridiculous to expect MTV to be anything other than maliciously shitty. But still, this seems like a grand-scale asshole move for the network. Let the damn directors in.