Taylor Swift Dedicates Top VMA Win to “Ultimate Showgirl” Dolly Parton

Earlier in the night—after Kacey Musgraves had paid tribute to Parton with a special performance of “I Will Always Love You”—Swift was bestowed the Moon Person for the first-ever Artist Director Honors, an award that MTV and CBS had shared in a Sept. 21 statement was designed to honor artists “whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling.” 

Meanwhile, the VMAs have long been a special show for Swift—who had previously taken home the ceremony’s biggest prize, Video of the Year, five times. In 2024, she gave her now-husband her first-ever ceremony shoutout while accepting the night’s biggest win for “Fortnight” alongside Post Malone. 

“Something that I’ll always remember is when I finished a take and I’d say ‘cut,’ and we’d be done with that take, I would always hear someone cheering from across the studio where we were shooting it,” Swift detailed in her acceptance speech. “That one person was my boyfriend Travis.”

And in 2022, Swift used the VMAs acknowledgement she received for “All Too Well: The Short Film” to announce her official return to pop music with the release of Midnights. 

“I’m just so proud of what we made,” Swift mused while accepting the Video of the Year honor. “I know with every second of this moment that we wouldn’t have been able to make this short film if it weren’t for you the fans because I wouldn’t be able to re-record my albums if it weren’t for you.”

Ever the mastermind, Swift had the perfect way to give back to her fans at that moment. 

“I had sort of made up my mind that if you were going to be this generous and give us this,” Swift continued. “I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand new album comes out Oct. 21. I will tell you more at midnight.”

For more of stars that showed up and showed out at the 2026 VMAs, keep reading…