by Lisa Richwine
11 September –
Pop star Taylor Swift won seven trophies at MTV’s Video Music Awards on Wednesday, tying her with Beyoncé for the most lifetime honors in the video awards’ 40-year history.
Swift won the top prize, video of the year, for her gloomy, black-and-white video “Fortnite” with Post Malone. It shows Swift inside an empty psychiatric hospital, a setting she said reflects what she was seeing in her mind when she wrote the music for “The Tortured Poets Department” album.
“When you watch this video it’s so sad, but it was actually the most fun video to make,” Swift said while accepting the VMA Moon Person statuette.
After every take, she would hear someone in the studio cheering. “That one person was my boyfriend, Travis,” she said, referring to Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce.
“Everything this man touches turns into joy, fun and magic,” she said. “I want to thank him for including me in this shoot.”
Swift thanked her fans for voting for her VMA honor and urged them to cast their vote in the upcoming US presidential election. The singer endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris in an Instagram post on Tuesday, but on Wednesday she did not name the candidate.
By the end of the night, Swift, 34, brought her career VMA total to 30, equal with hip-hop artist Beyoncé. Swift’s other awards on Wednesday included artist of the year and song of the summer.
The Best Video of the Year award was his third consecutive award – following “All Too Well” in 2022 and the extended version of “Anti-Hero” in 2023 – and fifth overall, a record for an artist.
Earlier in the show, when “Fortnite” won the award for best collaboration, Swift praised Malone, saying he was “so talented” and “so humble.”
“It took me a long time to get him to stop calling me ma’am,” she said, standing next to Malone on stage at the UBS Arena outside New York City.
Malone also responded to the praise, calling Swift “one of the kindest and most talented people I’ve ever had the honor of knowing.”
He said he watched Swift direct the “Fortnite” video while she was strapped to an operating room table on set. “It was pretty amazing,” he said.
The VMAs began airing on MTV in 1984 and became known for memorable moments, like the onstage kiss between Madonna and Britney Spears, and the raw meat dress Lady Gaga wore on the red carpet.
At Wednesday’s awards, “Good Luck, Babe” singer Chapel Roan was named best new artist. Wearing a metallic costume and headpiece, she dedicated her award to “all the drag artists who inspire me” and to her fans in the gay community.
“All the gay kids I see in the Midwest right now, I understand them, because I’m one of you,” she said. “Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t be who you want to be, bitch!”
Blackpink singer Lisa won the award for best K-pop video for her solo hit “Rockstar.” South African artist Tyla won the Afrobeats award for “Water,” and Brazilian singer Anitta won best Latin video for “Mil Veces.”
Rapper Eminem opened the show with the song “Houdini” from the album “The Death of Slim Shady,” followed by country singer Jelly Roll joining him via video feed to sing his hit “Somebody Save Me.”
Katy Perry, winner of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, sang hits ranging from “Teenage Dream” to “Firework” while wearing giant silver butterfly wings on a futuristic set. Her husband, actor Orlando Bloom, handed her the trophy, and she embraced him with a long kiss.
“Thank you to MTV for believing in my queerness from day one,” Perry said.
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